Horns of Hanukkah Premiere at Menorah Lighting

It was the inspiration of one fantastic musical event in Lansdale that lead to the creation of a brand new one, set to premiere Saturday evening.

"When the Montgomery County Concert Band brought TubaChristmas to Lansdale, which is a national thing, I turned to a fellow horn layer and said, 'Let's do Horns of Hanukkah.' That was 12 years ago," said Lansdale resident and Montgomery County Concert Band member Kim Newell.

"This year, we have a new guy in the band, Neil Goldberg, and he said, 'We're doing it. We keep talking about it, we're doing it.' Diane Frank made a logo. We are working on music and we have our inaugural performance tonight," Newell said.

Horns of Hanukkah will play Hanukkah songs at 6 p.m., prior to the 6:30 p.m. traditional ceremony in Railroad Plaza.

"I called up the borough and said, 'Can we pay a half hour before the Menorah lighting to add live music to the event?' and they called around and let everybody know and it was great," Newell said.

Furthermore, Newell already had a connection to Menorah lighting organizer Alan Gold through her membership in the North Penn Arts Alliance.  

"I'm hoping Horns of Hanukkah is going to be like TubaChristmas," Newell said.

A group in Cleveland is taking the Horns of Hanukkah ensemble into consideration, she said.

"Anybody can come join us," Newell said. "I hope it spreads."

On Saturday, the group performed eight Hanukkah songs before the ceremony.

Newell is not of the Jewish faith; she wants this performance to accompany the traditional Lansdale occasion each year.

"I'm kind of a townie, in that I lived at Lincoln and Broad for 13 years. I knew this was going on in town," she said.   "I knew the lighting was cool. And being a brass player during the holidays, you always want some place to play."

Newell is a fan of the Hebrew hymn "Ma'oz Tzur," or "Rock of Ages."

"The music is really beautiful," she said. "This is a great opportunity to expose people who aren't familiar with other traditions in music. You can sing Christmas carols until the cows come home. Some religions and cultures have great traditions and great music. We're one, big melting pot."

Horns of Hanukkah is excited at the potential of returning at next year's Menorah lighting.

"It's another way for musicians, in general, to have opportunities, from high school on," Newell said. 

She said the group is another outlet for people to get experience with a brass instrument, like the French horn.

"In the long run, it's a win all way around," she said. "It's really just an honor to provide a unique way to bring (Hebrew music) to the community."

Prior to the event, Horns of Hanukkah rehearsed at 4:30 p.m. at Lansdale United Methodist Church.

"Hopefully, this will be an annual thing, like the TubaChristmas," Newell said. "You definitely could add a little brass."