Chazanim and Choir
Chazan Shimon Farkas - Senior Cantor
Chazan Shimon Farkas OAM is one of the great Cantors of our time, His unique voice is brilliant in tone and rich in emotional warmth.
Chazan Farkas was born in Hungary and moved to Israel as a young child. At the age of nine he conducted the Friday night services at the Rama Synagogue in Tel Aviv. At the age of 22, Chazan Farkas was appointed as Cantor of our own Central Synagogue, where he served for 15 years. In 1987 he was appointed Cantor of the Concord Resort Hotel in New York State.
Following the fire 1994, Chazan Farkas returned to Sydney where he assisted in rebuilding the synagogue and was appointed to his current position of Chief Cantor. He has a number of CD recordings, well known throughout the Jewish world. On Australia Day 2008, he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in recognition of his contribution to the Jewish community, in particular, to our Synagogue. Shimon and his wife Veronica have 3 children and 10 grandchildren living in Sydney, Melbourne and Israel.
Rabbi Yehuda Niasoff – Chazan Sheini-Choir Master
In 2003 Rabbi Yehuda Niasoff was appointed as Chazan Sheini at Central. SInce then he has also taken on the role of choir master and has done a magnificent job. He recently formed a Young Boy’s Choir in addition to the main choir.
Yehuda was born in New York to a family of musically talented and internationally known Chazanim. He began performing publicly from the age of six and from the age of eighteen, performed across the United States and was then appointed Chazan of the Chabad of the Hamptons leading the High Holiday Services for several years.
In 1993, Rabbi Yehuda came to Australia to work with the Sydney Jewish community, whilst continuing his Rabbinical studies. Over the past 10 years, Rabbi Niasoff has served as Chazan for a number of Synagogues over the High Holy Days. He is also a Shochet (ritual kosher slaughterer) for the NSW Kashrut Authority and is also a qualified Mohel. He is married to Devora and they have a family of 5 children.
The Choir
The choir at Central has been acclaimed as one of the finest in Australia. The quality of their voices and the beautiful tunes enhance every Shabbat and Yomtov. The choir is often invited to perform outside the shul at various community functions and simchas.
Their wonderful voices add vibrancy and a joyful note to every service and davening would certainly not be the same at Central without their uplifting and harmonious voices. There is a palpable joy that they add and the congregation is encouraged to join in, many swaying and clapping to the melodies and congregants leave the Synagogue still humming the beautiful tunes. "Use the talents you possess - for the Shul would be a very silent place if no birds sang”
The choir members:
- Adam Arnold
- Ted Arnold
- Bob Borowsky
- Shaun Eliastam
- Martin Friedgut
- Alan Gnesin
- Gavriel Ingram
- Jacques Klein
- Danny Levine
- Natie Lieb
- Saul Lieb
- Len Mahemoff
- Frank Marks
- Nadav Michel
- Josh Nagel
- Zelwyn Orbach
- John Tintner
- Jeff Zulman
Under the guidance of Rabbi Yehuda Niasoff a Young Boys Choir has recently been formed. When they sang over the High Holy Days there was a hush in the shul as their sweet, angelic voices filled the air. They also made an appearance at our concert in 2010 and once again they “wowed “the audience.
The boys are:
- Natan Abram
- Rafael Ginges
- Ari Naar
- Levi Niasoff
- Ricky Rosen
- Efraim Wolff
- Mendel Wolff
- Jacob Wine
- Zac Wine