In honor of the YM&YWHA of Washington Heights & Inwood’s 100th anniversary, internet sensation the Maccabeats will perform a special concert at the Y on June 18! The Y is able to book the viral YouTube stars as the result of being one of 22 Jewish community centers across North America to receive a Making Music Happen grant from JCC Association.
Like the Y, JCCA celebrates its 100 year anniversary in 2017. The Making Music Happen grants were developed to enable JCCs to create a variety of individual music projects tailored to their communities’ interests. “When we learned of JCCA’s generous grant aimed at strengthening JCCs’ connections to their communities, the Maccabeats immediately came to mind as the perfect option for us,” said Chief Social Services Officer Deborah Katznelson, who is overseeing the Y’s many centennial celebrations. “The group formed at Yeshiva University, right here in Washington Heights. Beyond being a product of our neighborhood, two Maccabeats are actually former Y employees. Because of this strong connection to our community and to us, they were the only group we even considered for our Making Music Happen performance.” Although the a cappella group’s roots are in Washington Heights, they’ve performed throughout the country and across five continents. They were even invited to join reggae superstar Matisyahu on stage and to perform at the White House for President Barack Obama.
The Musical Journey Through 100 Years with the Maccabeats concert set will include popular songs that led the group to clock in more than 20 million YouTube views. Beyond their standard repertoire of mixing their hit songs, stories, jokes, and crowd participation, the Maccabeats will pay special tribute to the Y’s history by including popular songs from three different periods in the past 100 years.
The Maccabeats concert is the latest in a string of high-profile centennial events for the Y. Tied to the momentous anniversary, Y CEO Martin Englisher rang the Closing Bell of the New York Stock Exchange; the Y’s street, Nagle Avenue, was co-named Sidney Offerman Way in honor of the past Y president who was a key player in shaping the organization into the wide-reaching, community-support agency it is today.
All are welcome to the performance at the Y on Sunday, June 18, 2017 at 2 pm. Visit the Musical Journey Through 100 Years with the Maccabeats page to learn how to purchase tickets (Children 5 and older: $5 / Adults: $10).
The Making Music Happen, the Soundtrack of Jewish Life in North America initiative is funded by Marvin J. Pertzik and the Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation.
