Hosting / Events at Jerusalem Center

We replaced Ted and Rae Okiishi, an amazing couple. Ted was the branch presid. & Rae was a fireball. They did the work of two couples! During half th week, we hosted daytime tours & evening concerts at the BYU Center. The other half was community humanitarian work. On the Sabbath (Sat.), we "rested."

Mike Ohman did 10-minute organ recitals in each JC tour that we oversaw as Hosting Directors.  He is a professor from the BYU Music Dept. and a superb organist.  In 1987 he helped install our grand 3,000-pipe, 65-rank Markessen tracker organ.  It was made in Denmark to fit this atrium space & may be the finest organ in the Middle East.

On our 1st Sabbath (Sat., 9/7/10), these tall auditorium windows showed a stunning view of the Old City.  As we took the sacrament, we pondered the Garden of Gethsemane (beyond trees, left), with the Temple Mount beyond and the Garden Tomb  (far rt., out of this shot).   Sublime!

*****************************

Due to the unsurpassed JC grounds & Old City backdrop, pre-wedding photos (mainly of Arabic couples) were very popular in past years.  We only saw two, on 7/17/11 & 10/9/11 -- when our JC staff's own relatives were involved.

***************************************

CONCERTS

Every Sunday night a full house came (seats 350) for classical concerts by top artists. We helped greet & usher, oversee student helpers & develop relationships with attenders -- nearly 11,000 to concerts and 14,000 to tours (in 2009). Almost all were Jewish. Stew & Judy Telman always sat bottom left. [See Dec. '10, Yearend Holidays & July '11, Humanitarians -- W. Jerus.]

At our first concert of the Fall Season (Sun. 10/2/10), a young orchestra from Germany filled the stage.  Mike opened the program with the Albinoni Adagio.  Then followed Haydn's dazzling Cello Concerto & Beethoven's 8th Symphony.  Again, all 350 seats were taken.  

On 7/3/11, the Arab-Jewish Youth Orch. from all of Israel did ethnic music on ouds, drums, flutes, clarinet & violins.  In the Arab crowd were some from our East Jerusalem charities.  [See July '11 post, JC Guests]

On 8/7/11 this amazing duo (Ron Regev piano, Cristina Reiko Cooper, cello) played superb short classics & the premier of her grandfather's composition.   They both spoke as well as they played, in perfect English.  Hard to believe that they were playing together for the 1st time -- ever!

On 10/30/11 the only Mormon musician to perform there so far was Nicole Biggs, from Texas.  Her program was dazzling but exhausting -- with two Piano Quartets (Mozart & Mendelssohn) and a Liszt etude. 

On 12/4/11 the Israeli Piano Quartet lived up to their name. L-R: Revital Hachamoff (piano), Ira Givol (cello), Shuli Waterman & Gilad Hildesheim (violin) did an All-Beethoven program, incl. Symphony # 3 ("Eroica").  That one had helped me get thru law school exams by, at once, calming & energizing me.

25th JC Anniversary.  Celebrating the JC's 25th year in operation, on 1/8/12 Richard Elliott (Principal Tabernacle Choir Organist) started the Winter Series with a dazzling organ concert on the famed 3,165-pipe Marcussen Pipe Organ.

Mike Ohman arranged this.  (Eric Huntsman brought the Elliott family & me to the JC on 12/21/11 -- upon my return from Wilbert's funeral.)

The audience faced away from the organ.  But both it & the organist reflected visibly in the front windows! 

After a supert Bach Sinfonia then Passacaglia & Fugue, he played the Israel premiere of BYU Daniel Gawthrop's O Jerusalem: A Symphony for Organ.  Before each movement, Mike narrated Isaiah verses 66:15 & 12, 61:10 & 60:1. 

He also played spectacular arrangements of Go, Tell It on the Mtn!, Marcel Dupre's Variations on a Noel & Gershwin's I Got Rhythm.  We had never seen foot pedals (or hands) move so fast or so precisely.  This concert got the only standing ovation we saw in our 18 months at the JC.

Afterwards, we joined a stream of well-wishers in the JC lobby -- including Neomi's husband Gil Weinstein, a true judge of artistic excellence.

The next day Rick gave a 1-1/2 organ seminar to aspiring organists.  Will this also inspire Marilyn to give it a try?

One Thursday each month, there was a jazz or ethnic concert.  On 9/2/10, the group included a sweet sax, vibrant percussion, rhythmic bass and Brubeck-style pianist.  These are also popular concerts.   Artists loved to perform in this acoustical marvel, before a small appreciative crowd & spectacular city lights.

Our last concert on 2/26/12 was marvelous.  A 32-voice young girls' choir (ages 14 to 26) from a town near Tel Aviv did "From Baroque to Our Time" (10 pieces + 3 encores).  They were well trained and had an unusually mature sound -- even more than Melissa's BYU Women's Choir.

In one Verdi number from La Traviata, they sang like conversational gypsies -- with no director.  They were charming but 3 girls almost passed out in the warm hall after a long day. 

But for us, it was a very fun & memorable night.  Neomi expressed special gratitude to Marilyn.

******************************

JC AS A CONCERT HALL

As guests arrived for concerts, they filled the long front street and the side street with parking on all sides -- one reason to come early.

 

  The Center itself was an attraction, spectacular both inside and out. Some who have lived here all their lives called it the most serene & impressive bldg.in Jerusalem. Concerts and tours were without charge to the public. Performers received only a modest stipend from the JC plus any donations by attenders after each concert. Almost all attenders were local residents.

Guests approaching the JC for evening concerts enjoyed well-lighted grounds.

The heavy iron, front-entry gates have always stayed open.  If closed, some Jews may think the 7 angled-iron supports looked like a Menorah!

With the winter rains, colorful umbrellas decorated the inside front entry.

At the front gates were two patios with lighted fountains & gardens.

                                              

Inside the front doors is the security room.  It surveys and secures JC's entire outer perimeter by continuously viewing multiple TV screens.

They were greeted at many places, including the main reception desk. Marilyn and Shari Ohman also prepared flowers for these events -- and for Church meetings on the Sabbath.

Neomi Weinstein (JC cultural director, on the right) booked all performers for concerts & all exhibit displays. Shari Ohman was her right hand; Marilyn was her left one.

Students like Joni & Janessa (6/12/11) enjoyed hosting at the doors.

********************************

JC WEEKDAY TOURS

The elegant main entry hall is highly arched.  The auditorium is on the right, offices & library on the left; also 2 seminar rooms for tours.  Guided tours start Wed.-Fri. 10 to 11:30 am then 2 to 3:30 pm.  The JC is filled with arches, windows & light.  Architects left the concrete unfinished, to blend with the natural limestone outside.

On non-tour days, this sign is posted at the front driveway. It notes the days and times of all public JC tours.

At the far end of the long entry hall is the Dome Theatre -- used for large group tours over 60 and by students for Sunday School and Relief Society classes.

Each guided tour started in a seminar room.  After our welcome, we showed a 10-minute film explaining all JC functions.  We can discuss the JC or BYU but not our religion or doctrine, as agreed with the Israeli govt.  Two other service couples (over music & housing) assisted us.

One mixed group of Arab, Jewish and Christian students came from an architectural college in northern Israel.  On 8/4/11 Eran Hayet's daughter Noa (front row) brought her Air Force unit for a tour.

Before or after the orientation film, and before the outside tour, the immaculate rest rooms were available & often used.  They were so clean & nice that people have taken photos of them.

Each tour group is treated to a 10-minute organ program.  After explaining the organ, there were three pieces -- first, full-blast to show off unique horizontal Spanish pipes. Then a more mellow piece & finally either a sublime or rousing one.

Children (of all ages) are fascinated by such a large instrument.

On 3/2/11, about 50 Arab teachers from 6 or 7 schools in Beit Safafa and other communities near Bethlehem filled a seminar room and 1/2 the auditorium -- the largest Arabic group to attend a tour since our arrival.

On 11/16/11 an even larger-size group came -- 3 busloads (135 people) at once.

After the organ program, we escorted guests down the stairs, noting these ancient mosaics -- displayed courtesy of the Antiquities Authority.   One was found outside Jaffa Gate (Jerusalem) -- while excavating for Mamilla mall.   

The others were from Be'er Sheva (southern Israel), including a "BYU cougar!" All mosaics were from the Byzantine period.

We also noted the new fountain (2009).  It celebrated the value of water in the Holy Land, with artful use of shadow & light. It brought the sound of peaceful rainfall inside the bldg. (They could also use more rain outside.)

The outside terrace presented a panorama of Jerusalem landmarks.  We paused for photos.  (Cameras are allowed at the Center for all events and displays.)  Our main objective outside was to maintain the spirit & peace felt inside the Center.

The back side of the JC is as impressive as the front.  Lawns, gardens & green space are quite rare in this city of stone & hardscape.  Gardens on all 8 levels fulfil the architect's desire for Jerusalem to be seen through arches, flowers and the beauties of nature. 

Resuming  our outside tour,  4 large bronze models helped us describe four stages of the city's long history.  (It has been at least partly destroyed and rebuilt at least 20 times.)

In Nov. '10, we had two huge group tours -- 150 in one hour.  [Harrises from Galilee helped, as the Jacksons & Ohmans were on a Jordan field trip.]   Retired school teachers from Afula (near Galilee) filled the view terrace.  Rather than explain each model to large groups, we gave our models lecture inside.  A week later, the Mormon Heritage group of 50 had a microphone & speaker -- even better.

The 50 Arabic school teachers who came on 3/2/10 also thronged the terrace.  They spoke constantly among themselves (a unique Arabic cultural trait), but focused mainly on what they were seeing & hearing.

Tour groups of all sizes and ages came -- ranging from college students and younger to retirees in wheelchairs.  Most groups were small local walk-ins.  Typically, someone in each group has been here before and has invited the others.  Average size (including group tours) was about 8 persons.

When outside, we noted specific features in the current panorama & these models, as Ted Okiishi & the Beit Safafa's Director are doing here.

The first model depicted the first temple period.  It was after David captured it from the Jebusites (1000 BCE), after Solomon built the First Temple, and after Hezekiah built the outer walls to save the city from the Assyrians, who captured the rest of Israel by 721 BCE.  Babylon destroyed the temple & entire city in 586 BCE.

Next was the "2nd" Temple period.  The people returned from captivity in 515 BCE and rebuilt a very modest temple. It decayed and was magnificently replaced by Herod the Great.  The people didn't trust Herod, so he did it piecemeal over 46 yrs.  This was the temple of Jesus.  It and the entire city were again destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E.

A third model showed 638 C.E. = no temple!  Romans rebuilt the city (including 2 long cardos) for pagans only, followed by Christian Byzantines.  Constantine & mother Helena built the Church of the Holy Sepulchre & other holy sites.  But the temple mount was an empty rubbish heap & the city was in bad shape before the Arabs came.

The last bronze showed the Old City today.  Arabs came in 638 AD under Omar the Great. Dome of the Rock shrine & El Aqsa Mosque were built by 700 AD. Crusaders came for 200 years, but lost to Saladin in 1187 A.D.  Jews, Christians & Muslims all were quite peaceful for nearly 1,000 yrs.  By 1538, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent of Turkey rebuilt the walls.

Next we toured the botanical gardens (north side of the Center).  There were native herbs & plants, including many biblical fruits in this "land of milk and honey" -- grapes, olives, dates, pomegranites, figs, wheat & barley (Deut. 8:8).

This JC pomegranate tree was loaded with these luscious fruits.  (We picked this one soon after we arrived.)  No matter its size, each pomegranate has 613 seeds -- the same number as the Jewish rules and commandments.

 

Once a year (in Oct. after it rains), BYU students processed olive oil in the ancient way. First, they picked and shoveled olives into this stone mill. Then several students (instead of a donkey) pushed the large mill stone around in a circle, crushing the olives (pits & all) into a mash -- which was then scooped into hemp baskets.

These young girls on a 8/5/11 tour enjoyed running the big stone wheel -- just like BYU students did after each olive harvest.  Students extracted enough olive oil for all who come during the next year to take a small vial home as a souvenir.

The ancient beam press method was over 3,000 years old.  It used levers & pulleys to press oil out of the crushed olives. Hemp baskets were placed beneath the large piston, forcing oil into the 1st hole.  When water was added, residue sank & pure oil floated, then is skimmed into the 2nd hole.

A more efficient technology was a screw press from the Byzantine period--1,500 years old.  It required less space and was easier to use; one man could turn the screw with a lever to press out the oil.  It is still used at times today.  The last stage was to skim off and collect the best olive oil.

After the oil has flowed, it was reddish-brown -- almost the color of blood -- before it was processed to become clear & light green.

This winepress was just beyond the Center's small grape arbor.   Harvested grapes are pressed with bare feet in the first two vats.  (That process prevents the bitter grape seeds from being crushed.)  Then the juice is processed with additives in the end vats and boiled for later use.

Finally, we told about this ancient olive tree.  After being transplanted from Galilee, it seemed to die. But gardeners grafted a young branch into the old trunk's hollow center.  Over time, new roots activated the old ones.  Five new trunks sprang up, producing very tall  growth -- and more olives!  Like Israel, this tree is both very old & very new.  And maybe it will never die! Some day all trunks may grow together, united in peace & harmony.  This symbolized our hope for modern Israel.

 The grafted tree also brought seeds of a raspberry plant.  It spilled out of the old trunk.  Some say that Moses' burning bush on Mt. Sinai was a raspberry.

At the end, tourists may return to view current art displays in our Learning Resource Center.  Exhibits change every six months.  In 2010, 14 local artists displayed contemporary mosaics based on ancient motifs.  The Jan. '11 exhibit ("Face 2 Face") featured 24 young artists from Holy Land schools.  The next display had art from their teachers.  In 2012, it featured woven tapestries by 12 talented artists.  [See Feb. '12 post, Art Exhibits -- The JC]

After each tour, we took guests to the front gate. We urged them to return, to bring friends & to attend weekly JC Sunday Evening Classic concerts.  In 2009, about 11,000 came to concerts and over 14,000 took JC tours.  Over 90 % of them, both scheduled and walk-ins, were non-LDS -- mostly Jewish.  The tour attendance dropped in 2010 to 10,000 and to 8,000 in 2011 -- with even fewer large group LDS tours. Most groups were local walk-ins, average 4 to 8 persons in size.   We were happy to take groups of any size -- even one or two at a time!