CityLife

Celebration time for Jewish community

Jewish Museum

IT’S the European Day of Jewish Culture and Heritage on Sunday.

And to celebrate this special day, the Manchester Jewish Museum (pictured) in Cheetham Hill Road has arranged two events on this year’s theme, Jewish music.

At noon there will be a klezmer performance by Adrian Dobson and Sue Webb. This style of music originated with the Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe.

The word ‘klezmer’ was originally used for musician and comes from the Hebrew ‘klei,’ meaning vessel and ‘zemmer,’ meaning song, so ‘an instrument of song’.

The performance will be followed at 2pm with a talk by Aubrey Kreike entitled What is Jewish Music?

Occasion

The museum has extended its opening hours for the occasion and will be open from 10.30am to 5pm, with entry free all day.

The building, completed in 1874, is listed and a beautiful example of Victorian architecture in the Moorish style, with splendid stained glass windows and distinctive cast-iron fitments.

It is the former Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue and well worth a visit for historic and cultural reasons, reflecting the rich history of Jewish people in Manchester.

To find out more, ring 0161 834 9879.