The Leipziger Synagogalchor was founded in 1962. Its aim is to cultivate the Jewish music tradition, in particular that of synagogal music of the 19^th and 20^th centuries as well as Yiddish and Hebrew folklore. Its extensive repertoire of historical literature preserves a cultural heritage. Thus the choir is often called upon to present this part of the cultural and musical history of the Jewish folk to audiences not only in Germany but also world-wide. Increasingly, concert programs also include contemporary compositions of composers such as Joseph Dorfman, Bonia Shur and Siegfried Thiele.

Four records produced by ETERNA, two by MDR and a CD recorded by Berlin Classics offer a representative cross-section of repertoire and demonstrate the professional format of the ensemble.

The combination of artistic and political expression, both weighted equally, in the works interpreted by the Leipziger Synagogalchor under the direction of Kammersänger Helmut Klotz has established the ensemble as a concert-choir which is celebrated world-wide and which serves as a politico-cultural embassador of considerable importance for the city of Leipzig and the state of Saxony.

The Leipziger Synagogalchor has received the golden award “Stern der Völkerfreundschaft“ and the “Kunstpreis“ of the city of Leipzig.

The choir became a registered association in 1991 and receives subsidies from the city of Leipzig and the state of Saxony.

The ensemble has approximately 30 members who are not professional singers but who for the most part have received some professional training. They have diverse occupations and dedicate a large part of their free time to choral music. The personal commitment and idealism of every single member contribute in large part to the success of the ensemble.

In the 39 years Helmut Klotz has been artistic director, he has succeeded in forming the choir into a semi-professional ensemble with a professional artistic scope. This is evident when one sees where the ensemble performs internationally and which acclaimed soloists and orchestras it works with. This choir has the special privilege to perform with solists of the Leipzig, Berlin and Zurich Operas and with members of the Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Radio Orchestra of Middlegermany (MDR) in concert halls such as that of the Berlin Philharmonic, the Berlin Schauspielhaus, the Gasteig in Munich, the Leipzig Gewandhaus and the Alte Oper in Frankfurt. In the synagogues of Warsaw, Krakow, Prague, Paris and Wroclaw the choir has performed as well as in the cathedrals of Opole, Lublin and Katowice, in St. Mary’s Church in Krakow and the Cologne Cathedral.. Furthermore, the choir has been on concert tours to Israel, South Africa, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Brazil, Slovakia, Sweden and several times in Poland and the U.S.A. The choir has performed at international festivals for Jewish culture and music in Odessa, Leverkusen and Munich. A special occasion for the choir was the performance of the international opera production “Der Weg der Verheißung“ of Kurt Weill in Chemnitz, New York and Tel Aviv.

In its hometown Leipzig the ensemble performs twice a year in the series “Leipziger Ware“ 2003. Here it is presented through the Ephraim Carlebach Foundation in the Ariowitsch-Haus. For 25 years it has also taken part in the annual ecumenical service in the Leipzig Church of St. Thomas in memory of the victims of the “Reichsprogromnacht“ November 9, 1938.