25th Anniversery Founders Gala
Sunday, April 7, 2019 at 7:30PM
Gindi Auditorium of the American Jewish University
![25th Anniversary Program Front A graphic that reads Los Angeles Jewish Symphony Founders Gala, 25 Years.](https://lajs.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/25th-Anniversary-Program-Front.jpg)
A resounding thank you to everyone who made this sell-out evening a success!! From the pre-show event to the dessert reception, our 25th Anniversary was one to remember.
Rewarded with multiple standing ovations, our performers and Guest Artists wowed the house, while Headliner Tovah Feldshuh kept everyone laughing.
To our LAJS family and friends, thank you for a fabulous 25 years!
“It was truly fabulous. And Noreen, what a Maestra. I love working with her and always become more impressed with her work. What a star!!!”
Honorees
![Dr. Richard Merkin](https://lajs.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Dr.-Richard-Merkin-150x150-1.jpg)
Dr. Richard Merkin
Founder
![Dr. Ian Drew](https://lajs.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Ian-150x150-1.jpeg)
Dr. Ian Drew
Founding President
![Noreen Green headshot](https://lajs.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Noreen-Icon-150x150-1.png)
Dr. Noreen Green
Founding Artistic Director
![LAJS Concertmaster Mark Kashper](https://lajs.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Mark-Kashper.jpeg)
Mark Kashper
Founding Concertmaster
Master of Ceremonies
![Brad-Pomerance_1-200x300 Brad Pomerance: MC](https://lajs.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Brad-Pomerance_1-200x300-1.jpeg)
Brad Pomerance currently serves as the Host of Air Land & Sea, broadcasting weekly on the national cable network JLTV. As Host of this global travel series, Brad has traveled to Barbados, the Czech Republic, Germany, Israel, Jamaica, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and Taiwan. He also serves as the Host of JLTV’s weekly news magazine, The J Report with Brad Pomerance.
Brad is also hosting Uncovered in the Archives, a historically driven television show that Brad developed for PBS-affiliate KVCR in Southern California.
Headliner
![Tovah Feldshuh Six-time Emmy and Tony nominee, Tovah Feldshuh](https://lajs.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Tovah-Feldshuh.jpeg)
Legendary broadway star and playwright Tovah Feldshuh has won four Drama Desk Awards, four Outer Critics Circle Awards, the Obie, the Theatre Critics Circle Award and the Helen Hayes Award and has received six Tony nominations and six Emmy nominations. Her play Golda’s Balcony is the longest-running one-woman show in the history of Broadway. Jason Zinoman of The New York Times raved, “No one earns more laughs than the marvelous Tovah Feldshuh. Her diva-like flourishes are precisely timed, her entrances and exits designed for maximum impact.”
Featured soloists
![Photo-1-Hila-Plitmann-150x150 Soprano Hila Plitmann](https://lajs.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Photo-1-Hila-Plitmann-150x150-1.jpeg)
Hila Plitmann has performed on many notable albums, and continues to accumulate an impressive catalogue of virtuosic recordings: Hans Zimmer’s Grammy Award nominated soundtrack to The Da Vinci Code; Eric Whitacre’s Good Night Moon with the LSO; Oscar winner John Corigliano’s song-cycle Mr. Tambourine Man with the Buffalo Symphony (for which she won a ‘Best Classical Vocal Performance’ Grammy); Richard Danielpour’s Grammy Award winning recording The Passion of Yeshua, with Buffalo Symphony Orchestra, to name a few.
![Emily-Bear-150x150 17-year-old Composer/Pianist sensation, Emily Bear](https://lajs.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Emily-Bear-150x150-1.jpeg)
An award-winning composer and recording artist since the age of five, Emily Bear has achieved groundbreaking success as a pianist, composer, and singer-songwriter. Her expertise and love for film and media scoring highlights her ability to move between musical styles and to communicate story through music.
Sculpture Garden Entertainment
![Netflix star and Magician extraordinaire, Ben Seidman](https://lajs.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/BenSeidman_Tea_2MB-150x150-1.jpeg)
Ben Seidman
Magician
![Delightful Klezmer duet with Isaac Sadigursky, Accordion and Gary Gould, Clarinet](https://lajs.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/klezmer-duo-300x162-1.jpeg)
Isaac Sadigursky, Accordion and Gary Gould, Clarinet
Klezmer Duo
![Classical and Jazz Guitarist, Max Brenner](https://lajs.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Max-Brenner-150x150-1.jpeg)
Max Brenner
Classical and Jazz Guitarist