Shimon Farkas
Shimon Farkas OAM | |
|---|---|
 Farkas at Auschwitz Birkenau | |
| Born | December 4, 1949 |
| Nationality | Hungarian, Australian |
| Education | Yeshiva University, Bar Ilan University |
| Occupation | Cantor |
| Years active | 1971-present |
| Employer | Central Synagogue of Sydney |
| Title | Chief Cantor |
| Spouse | Veronica Farkas |
| Children | 3 |
Shimon Farkas OAM[1] is a cantor, singer, and performer born in Hungary, and living in Australia. He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2008.[1] He has served as Chief Cantor at The Central Synagogue of Sydney for over five decades, from 1971 to the present (with a ten-year hiatus).[2]
Early life[edit]
Farkas was born in Fehergyarmat, Hungary in 1949 to Holocaust survivors, Chaim Meir Farkas and Faigu Weiss. During the war, his parents survived the camps and married in Fehergyarmat after their liberation. Three of his grandparents were murdered in Auschwitz in 1944, and the fourth died prior to the war. His father was one of 5 of 8 siblings who survived the Holocaust. On his mother's side, both parents, and three of their ten children died in Auschwitz. Farkas moved to Israel in 1951, and led a service on Friday evening at the Rama Synagogue in Tel Aviv at age 9.[2][3]
Farkas and his mother immigrated to the United States in the fall of 1961, after his father's death. They lived in the Borough Park neighbourhood of Brooklyn, New York. For his musical training, he studied privately underMoshe Kusevitsky and was appointed lead soloist in Kusevitsky's choir.[citation needed]
Cantorial career[edit]
Farkas was first posted as cantor at the Orthodox Shaarei Shomayim synagogue in 1967 for the High Holidays in Windsor, Ontario.
Farkas led High Holiday services for an Orthodox congregation in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1969 and 1970. During that time, while attending Yeshiva University in New York, he enrolled as an exchange student at Bar Ilan University in Israel. In Israel, he met Veronica Weisz, who was studying at Machon Gold in Jerusalem. The two were married and relocated to her hometown in Sydney, Australia.[2][3]
The following year at age 22, he was appointed and served as cantor at The Central Synagogue of Sydney for 15 years. In 1987, he was engaged by the Concord Resort Hotel in the Catskills (NY), to conduct Passover and High Holyday services, where it was noted that he filled the venue to capacity.[3]
After the success of his performances at the Concord during each Passover and High Holidays, Farkas recorded an album called "Voices of the Concord" accompanied by the Concord Symphonic Chorale, making his debut as a composer. A record of the songs from "Voices of the Concord" are kept at the Dartmouth Jewish Sound Archive.[4][5][3]
In 1994, the synagogue in Sydney was damaged by fire. Farkas played a role in fundraising for the rebuilding of the synagogue and returned to his current position as Chief Cantor, when the Central Synagogue was rededicated in 1998.[6]
Farkas has appeared with Marvin Hamlisch, conducting the Calgary Symphony Orchestra and the Sydney International Orchestra when Farkas produced a concert in 2008, titled "From Broadway to Jerusalem" at the same synagogue where he served as cantor for decades, The Central Synagogue of Sydney. In the following years, Farkas and his son, Dov produced a series of gala concerts in Melbourne and Sydney called "Symphony for the Soul: A Salute to Israel," with Mordechai Sobol as conductor.[2][3]
Music In The Family[edit]
Shimon and Veronica have three children. Both sons have followed in their father's footsteps with performances and recordings with their father and on their own.[7][8]
Participation In The March of the Living[edit]
Farkas has participated numerous times in the March of the Living in Auschwitz-Birkenau on Holocaust Remembrance Day. At the March of the Living, he chanted the El Malei Rachamim, the traditional Jewish memorial prayer, for the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. With his two sons, Dov & Chaim, they performed Szól a Kakas Már, a Hungarian Jewish folk song composed by the Rabbi of Kalev (1751– 1821), expressing a deep yearning for the redemption of the Jewish people and their return to the land of Israel. Farkas has contributed significantly to the International March of the Living by raising funds to support more student participation.[2] One member of the Australian delegation commented that "Shimon is perhaps the only human being who has the capability to convey and transmit the suffering of our people in the middle of the 20th century in an all-but-experiential manner."[9][10]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Medal of the Order of Australia". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. January 26, 2008. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
- ^ a b c d e Rubenstein, Eli (March 15, 2024). "Cantor Shimon Farkas OAM" (PDF). Shulcloud. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "Daniel Gildar Bio: Park East Synagogue". www.jewishboxoffice.com. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
- ^ Brown, David (August 3, 1993). "Shimon Farkas". The Australian Jewish News. p. 26. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
- ^ "DJSA - Shimon Farkas - Concord Symphonic Chorale - Voices of the Concord - K7". djsa.dartmouth.edu. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
- ^ "Guest Cantor Shimon Farkas - Event - Palm Beach Synagogue". members.palmbeachsynagogue.org. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
- ^ "Dov Farkas on Apple Music". Apple Music. 2004. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
- ^ "Generation To Generation - Shimon & Dov Farkas - CD, VG". eBay. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
- ^ "March of the Living – Juiverie". juiverie.com. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
- ^ Jacks, Timna. "Celebrating survival". www.australianjewishnews.com. Retrieved 2024-04-04.