Cantor Marcelo Gindlin and his sister Marianna, a cantor at Temple Sinai in Glendale, will perform together this Saturday, along with several of the center’s congregants, as part of the center’s annual fundraiser.
By Jonathan Friedman / Special to The Malibu Times
Summer might be coming to a close, but there are still a few occasions remaining to celebrate the season. One of those opportunities comes up this Saturday at the Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue, which will host a concert headlined by its internationally famous cantor, Marcelo Gindlin. The annual concert, which will also serve as a fundraiser for the temple, will feature a variety of music, including classical, jazz numbers, show tunes, world music and Jewish songs.
“It will be a very upbeat and optimistic concert to set the tone for welcoming the [Jewish] New Year [which begins next month],” Gindlin said. “The songs are about love, about light and about doing things that brings out pleasure.”
The annual fundraising concert has not previously taken place in the summer. Gindlin said he likes the calendar change because it will be a good lead-in to the High Holidays and an opportunity to see people he has not seen for awhile due to the summer break.
“It will be a reunion of people,” he said. “It will be a good feeling of energy at a place where everybody feels safe.”
Gindlin stressed that the concert is not just for temple members or even Malibu locals, but rather for all people. Others who will perform on Saturday include Gindlin’s sister, Mariana (who is the cantor at Temple Sinai in Glendale) and Malibu Jewish Center congregants Ruth Flinkman, Lorna Lembeck and Whitney Androlia. There will also be some surprise guests.
During Saturday’s concert Gindlin is looking forward to performing for the first time “Don’t Cry for me Argentina” from the musical “Evita.” Gindlin, a native of Argentina, said singing the song will have a particular significance because he recently began the process toward becoming an American citizen.
“I am very grateful to this country and to my community for all it has given me,” said Gindlin, who has lived in the United States for nearly a decade. “And I also appreciate where I am from.”
Gindlin and his sister will perform a medley that they recently sang together during a concert in Ariel, a city in the West Bank in Israel. That performance was part of a mission hosted by the Cantors Assembly of America, which invited the siblings. The mission also included a performance at the site of Auschwitz, the former Nazi death camp in Poland.
The Gindlins were raised in a musical family. Their father was a singer at the famed Teatro Colon Opera House in Buenos Aires. Naturally, the siblings began performing together when they were young children. The years of practice combined with their immense talent has made them a powerful musical duo.
“What we can produce when we sing together, it’s very magical,” Mariana Gindlin said. “We’re very close and have a love for each other, and a respect and appreciation for our talents. That shows on the stage when we perform together.”
Marcelo Gindlin said another feature he is excited about for the upcoming concert is that it will feature members of the congregation. He said the Malibu Jewish Center has many talented congregants, and this will be an opportunity to put that talent on display.
Flinkman, who will perform jazz numbers, said the abilities of her fellow members are what she likes about the Malibu Jewish Center.
“We have a very lively congregation, a lot of music and a lot of singing,” she said. “I particularly like it because it’s a mix of different people, a great welcoming community.”
The concert will take place on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue, which is located at 24855 Pacific Coast Highway. Regular seats are $45. Sponsorships can be purchased for $1,000, and include four VIP seats as well as a pre-concert cocktail party. Following the concert, there will be a dessert reception and no-host martini bar. Tickets can be purchased online at www.mjcs.org or by calling 310.456.2178.