About Us
Story Behind the Charity
Our beloved father, husband, grandfather and friend Brian Nathanson passed away in 2021. In his honour, we are holding Jewish music concerts to celebrate him and his lifelong love of singing.
Brian was born in 1938 in Leeds. He had enormous joie de vivre and a natural love of music, particularly opera and Jewish tunes. After moving to Perth in 1960s, he was president of the Perth Hebrew Congregation for many years, for which he organised concerts and special musical events. Brian was a member of the Perth Male Jewish Choir for over 30 years, something that he loved and cherished.
In Brian’s memory we have established Bishnat 2021, in order to host concerts for the community, bringing people together to celebrate and enjoy his lifelong love of Jewish music.
The art of Chazanut is thousands of years old; an ancient tradition of prayer chanting, or musical formula for our prayers. Each word has an electrical frequency which emits into the vibrational field, in effect, a direct line to G-d.
It is not just about singing. Music cracks open our hearts and goes straight to root of our soul; who we are. These prayers are sung, so we can internalise them on a molecular level. It is an art form that is out of fashion with much of the modern world, but one that we are attempting to re-introduce into our communities; to enjoy, to uplift, and to inspire. Although the general structure and words of the prayers/songs have remained the same over thousands of years, the liturgy is a continuous flow of adaptation and creativity, reflecting the environment and the creativity of the cantor /singer, which we intend on developing and promoting. We have so far held our concerts in local synagogues, and will continue to do so, but they can be held anywhere that brings community and people together to connect to ourselves, to our Judaism to Israel, and to the world.
Mission Statement
Bishnat is a charity that endeavours to promote and celebrate the power of Jewish music. We are dedicated to showcasing Jewish musicians and singers from around the world in various communities across the United Kingdom.
Our primary objective is to use musical performances to inspire Jewish people, and foster a sense of pride and connection to their unique heritage and community. In addition, we aim to create a deep appreciation and understanding of Jewish music in all of its genres. Musical appreciation is an important cornerstone of our culture, and as well as being a joyous experience, we aim for our performances to be educational and enhance the audience’s sense of mental wellbeing.
