By Shloimy Lowy, Photographer and Staff Writer
Spirits were high at the Music Community’s Open Mic Night this year. It was the second night of Chanukah, and, after lighting the menorah and consuming their Chanukah requirements of saturated fats, Yeshiva University students packed into the Schottenstein Theater on the Wilf campus for an energetic night filled with melodies, hard rock and classical music. The annual event, hosted by the Music Community subgroup underneath YU’s newly-structured Makers and Media Collective student organization, is an opportunity for all students to express themselves through music. Whether by playing an original or a crowd favorite, the students’ voices and instruments serve as a stunning representation of their artistry.
“Open Mic Night is one of my favorite nights of the year, and I’m thrilled and humbled that I get to be a part of making it happen,” Brooke Kohl (SCW ‘26), Co-President of the Music Community, told the YU Observer, her excitement reverberated by the audience.
Moshe Weitzner (YC ‘28), co-president of the Music Community with Kohl, opened the event by introducing “Orech Yamim,” the first band of the evening. “Orech Yamim” sang a beautifully quiet rendition of “Ten Li T’fila,” a song praying for connection in dark times, by Israeli singer Shmuel.
The next song was “Don’t Let Me Down” by the Beatles, played by another band called “Help?”. In his now-signature style, Ronnie Hidary (YC ‘27) came up on stage with all energy and no fear. He and Yosef Siegal (YC ‘26), both vocalists, delivered a stunning and loud performance, with Siegal hitting every note with unmatched expertise and Hidary demonstrating just how loud his voice can go. With Sydney Lugo (SCW ‘26) on the drums, Mei Blinkoff (SCW ‘27) on the guitar and Yishai Klapper (YC ‘27) on piano, the song was a hit.
“After a lot of hard (but fun) work, seeing Open Mic Night come together is surreal and awesome and beautiful. I had so much fun,” Kohl said. “The adrenaline that comes with running around making sure everything is going smoothly is great, and even better is getting to celebrate each of the performers and see their joy after performing.”
Throughout the night, Caleb Astroff (SSSB ‘26) Mc’ed, showing off his comedic talent, reminding the audience of the only song that could possibly compete with the Beatles: “I am YU.”
In a silky smooth voice, Yaakov Suldan (YC ‘26) sang an acoustic version of “Rocky Mountain High” by John Denver. Complemented by Ezra Cohen (YC ‘27) on the guitar, his voice was perfectly controlled as he navigated the terrains of the mountains.
“It was really exciting, I was glad to see so many people come out and cheer on their friends,” Hayley Goldberg (SCW ‘26), the violinist for “After Rehearsal,” told the YU Observer. Her band delighted the audience with a mesmerizing and moving performance of “A Whole New World” from Aladdin. “It was altogether a great experience getting to be on stage again,” Goldberg added.
For the surprise of the night, Moshe Lachs (SSSB ‘27) pulled off a performance of “The Way You Look Tonight” by Frank Sinatra, complete with Sinatra’s voice and style, earning him a well-deserved standing ovation. If you had only heard the man, you might have thought that Sinatra himself was in the room.
“It was a great moment, the nerves being overwhelmed, seeing the crowd, the cheering, the clapping,” Lachs told the YU Observer. “It was a fun time.”
In commemoration of the recent antisemetic terror attack in Sydney, Australia, Goldie Duchman (SCW ‘28), the keyboard player for all-freshmen band “Band 5,” introduced her band by recalling a saying attributed to the Lubavitcher Rebbe: “At a time of increasing darkness, we must increase the light.” The tribute challenged everyone to channel their inner light to spread positivity. “Band 5” then did just that with a joyful and epic performance of “Forget You” by CeeLo Green.
An introspective moment came when Shimi Rothman put down a solo performance of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” a song about loneliness and longing that reflected the frost outside and the long winter nights.
“I’ve listened to that song since I was a young boy,” Rothman told the YU Observer. “It’s always brought me back to the idea that we’re so small, yet we can have such an impact on the world.”
“Temple of the East” then played a rocking rendition of “Everlong” by Foo Fighters. In typical metal fashion, it was loud and raspy and fun. At the end of the night, Ashley Gardner (SCW ‘27), the guitar player for “Temple of the East,” handed out homemade, freshly baked muffins, acknowledging the hard work the musicians put into their performances. “It’s not easy coming [to rehearse] multiple times a week, and I know everyone has so much dedication, so I thought it would be a nice idea,” Gardner told the YU Observer.
One unique band, “Whistletones,” took Open Mic Night into its own hands. Because women are not allowed to sing at this event as it would violate kol isha (the prohibition for a man to hear a woman sing), the “Whistletones” came up with the brilliant idea to whistle, tap and click instead of sing. With Aliza Billet (SCW ‘25) on the whistle and Tamara Yeshurun (SCW ‘26), well, also on the whistle, they performed a sweet and hilarious rendition of “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” from the movie Frozen.
Billet told the YU Observer*, “Open mic night on the Wilf campus means that women can’t sing, but I still wanted to perform, and whistling is something that I find myself doing in my day-to-day life.” She explained that while she was embracing the restrictions, she wanted to highlight the frustrations some feel through the song choice. “‘Do You Want to Build a Snowman?’ has dialogue in it, so we were able to vocalize the dialogue parts while whistling the singing response, highlighting the absurdity of it all,” she said.
Ultimately, it paid off. As Billet pointed out, at first the audience laughed, but then they got into it, lip-syncing the lyrics to the tune being whistled. It was an experimental risk, but it was well-received.
Billet was not the only one protesting the rule against women singing at the event. Before his band played, Hidary took the stage for a moment, voicing his belief that he was rejected from the Music Community board for vocalizing support for women singing at co-ed events, something that goes against the community’s policy. He then somewhat seriously raised an arm in solidarity with the women who wanted to sing but could not.
“Most of the Modern Orthodox world, at least in the high schools I went to, allow women to sing,” Hidary told the YU Observer. “Not letting women sing is a relic of the past. I see it as hard to defend in terms of its misogynistic undertones. It is a double standard that has a loose basis in Halacha.”
With the Whistletones off stage, in the spirit of Chanukah and with a prayer for redemption, Yosef Bensimon (SSSB ‘27) sang the seasonal favorite “Chasof,” with the audience singing along.
Among those in that audience was YU alumnus Danny Kutin (YC ‘25), one of the original founders of YU’s former Music Club. “It is very weird to be able to sit and actually watch the performance. I don’t know if I’ve ever watched the open mic before,” Kutin told the YU Observer. “The performers did a great job performing, Brooke [Kohl] ran a really amazing show, and it was a ton of fun.”
The evening wrapped up with the piece “Vittorio Monti,” with the talented Bensimon on the violin and Yehudis Kundin (SCW ‘28) on the piano. It was a touching finish to a beautiful evening of music and joy, laughter and reflection.
It was noisy. It was fun. It was moving. That was Open Mic Night of 2025.
*Editor’s Note: The YU Observer typically does not interview members of its own editorial board. In this case, Senior Editor Aliza Billet was the only person in a position to conduct the interview, so an exception was made with transparency and care.
Photo Credit: JJ Grayson