Album Notes

In the fall of 2007, the YU A Cappella Group set out to showcase their university's latent cultural side. Though they didn't yet have their cool name (a play on YU's athletic clubs, the Maccabees) and stood pretty stiffly during their first few performances, these trailblazers cleared the way for the future of the performing arts at Yeshiva University.

Committed to the philosophy of Torah u-Madda, the integration of traditional and secular wisdom, the Maccabeats perform an eclectic array of Jewish, American, and Israeli songs. Their trademark piece, arranged by musical director Julian Horowitz, is the epitome of this synthesis, combining some of the most beloved words of Jewish liturgy - Lecha Dodi - with Leonard Cohen's meaningful and melodic Hallelujah.