“Sheket bevakasha!” hollered Nicole Thoma, co-director of music for Jewop, a Jewish a capella group.
“Hey!” hollered back more than a dozen members of the group just before practice, responding to the Hebrew refrain to please be quiet.
It’s a moment you may recognize from Jewish religious school as a technique designed to quickly get a class under control. But this is different. Thoma is not Jewish.
Jewop offers a bit of a window on Jewish campus life today, with its mix of Jewish and non-Jewish University of Wisconsin-Madison students. The mix is a badge of pride for the group. They laugh over how one member sang a Christmas carol at audition or lament how hard it is to sing Hebrew transliteration when you don’t know any Hebrew.
For non-Jewish members, the group is, as one student put it, “a super-cool cultural experience.” For Jewish members, it’s a connection to Judaism. For all, it’s an escape from classes and work, something fun.
Matthew Allen, co-director of music, grew up in Sun Prairie, where there were just a handful of other Jewish families, and became a bar mitzvah. He says he entered college absent much experience as a part of the larger Jewish community. Then, his Taglit-Birthright Israel trip was “eye-opening” for him, along with Jewop performances at Jewish venues.
The group will sing just about anything, from a tribute to klezmer and Yiddish swing, to singing “One Plague More” to the tune of “One Day More” from “Les Misérables.”
Students say Jewop was started years ago by Nicolet High School students from Milwaukee’s north shore. The group is a student organization with the university and is affiliated with Madison Hillel, with students using classrooms for practice and arranging an occasional show. The next one is at North Suburban Synagogue Beth El in Highland Park, Ill., in late January.
Allen and Thoma want the group to have fun and be fun, but they are also trying to raise the bar.
“It’s a change in how we do rehearsals” Allen said. “It’s less of a chance to come in and hang out and talk.”
No doubt, there’s talent here. If social media is any kind of indicator, it may be worth noting that video the Chronicle shot for Facebook in December of a Jewop Chanukah song was shared 20 times, with 2,000 views.
Jewop members travel annually to Washington, D.C. for Kol HaOlam, a national collegiate Jewish a capella competition. The group, currently with a roster of 15, piles in for a big sleepover at Sarah Dicker’s parents’ house in Potomac, Maryland, with non-Jewish students now fondly remembering a deep chat about how their Conservative kashrut home works, separate dishes and all.
“It really allows everyone in Jewop to see how Judaism is a spectrum,” said Dicker, a bio-medical engineering student. While in town, the students also tour Washington somewhat, “trying at all costs to rest our voices.”
In recent years, Jewop has placed 2nd or 3rd in the Kol HaOlam competition, but last year the group didn’t place at all, bringing home the lesser but appreciated “crowd favorite” and “best beat boxer” awards.
This year, at the March 12 competition, they’re hoping to do well, but that’s actually not what it’s all about. It’s about singing.
“It’s a great atmosphere,” said Dicker. “Everyone’s really cheering on each other.”
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