Baltimore, MD - Mar. 30, 2016 - Ohr Chadash Academy hit another homerun with Sunday’s amazing concert featuring the Maccabeats. The afternoon began with a VIP reception honoring Mike Lowenstein.  Mike joined the school board early on and has been committed to ensuring the success of the school working diligently as the Budget Chair and providing his expertise in many other areas of board establishment.  Joined with Mike's family, friends, and supporters of OCA, in a beautifully decorated room, everyone enjoyed an assortment of international delight including stuffed mushrooms, pastrami puffs, sushi, and gnocci.  Representative Shelley Hettleman was in attendance and publicly congratulated Mike on his award and extended her well-wishes to the entire Ohr Chadash Academy on the celebration of its 5th year.  Board President Ken Gelula and board member Rosemary Warschawski spoke about their personal relationships with Mike and how instrumental he has been to Ohr Chadash.

Before the doors officially opened, people were streaming into Kraushaar Auditorium at Goucher College to ensure they could grab some of the few remaining seats for the show.  To start off the show, the Baltimore Bows, a children’s orchestra group, performed beautifully, wowing the crowd with their poise and talent.  While they certainly did not need an introduction, MC Joe Weisbord announced the Maccabeats to an excited crowd of over 900 people and they delivered a fun and entertaining performance.  The song set included both older and newer songs, but the Maccabeats were delighted to sing one of their earlier tunes, Yavo, which was the most requested song on the OCA Facebook poll.

After intermission, Rabbi Binyamin Marwick, Rav of Congregation Shomrei Emunah, introduced Mike Lowenstein where he spoke highly of all that Mike does for the OCA, Baltimore, and Jewish community.

The Maccabeats returned to the stage after chants from the audience brought them back, and the Maccabeats then invited the Baltimore Bows to join them on stage where they performed an unforgettable collaboration of Tzor Mishelo combining the tunes of Pachabel's Canon with Puff the Magic Dragon.  After a few more songs and a lesson on beatboxing (remember “bts” and “cts”), the show was over, until the Maccabeats came in for the encore and demanded that everyone in the audience stand up and sing along with them to their infamous remake – Candelight.  The crowd was clapping and singing and kids were lining the sides of stage, dancing to the upbeat tune. Certainly a wonderful family friendly event for the community to enjoy.  

Photo Credit: Eli Taragin