December 11, 2025 • 8 mins
The Derby City Chamber Music Festival performs Handel's "Judas Maccabeus" at The Temple on December 17. It's a new inclusive tradition for Hanukkah.
The Louisville Orchestra's Nicholas Finch is the artistic director for Derby City Chamber Music Festival and discussed the show with Terry Meiners on WHAS.
Support for the festival came from The Temple, Congregation Adath Jeshurun, Keneseth Israel, and the Jewish Heritgae Fund.
The Louisville Orchestra's Nicholas Finch is the artistic director for Derby City Chamber Music Festival and discussed the show with Terry Meiners on WHAS.
Support for the festival came from The Temple, Congregation Adath Jeshurun, Keneseth Israel, and the Jewish Heritgae Fund.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's a Robert F. Kennedy Junior Christmas.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Jane Golbolls, Janglbolls, jangall all away. You say a shakin
of Vaccain, mad, I tell you no way.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Shelver Bell sell her Man, I can do five hundred, Pauli.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Maka.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
We have a member of the Louisville Orchestra in the
studio with us. He's also artistic director for the Derby
City Chamber Music Festival. Nicholas Finch. Wasn't that moving?
Speaker 4 (00:46):
I just don't know how anyone could present any holiday
music that could possibly measure.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Up exactly right. I just know my soul is now
stirred properly for the holiday season. It's good to see
you again. Good to see you too, Welcome back. I
know the a City Chamber Music Festival is coming up
this What are we talking about.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
Next or next week?
Speaker 1 (01:07):
This week?
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Yeah, so Wednesday, that's right. So our regular festivals in May,
but we've expanded throughout the year and we're doing a
special event next week for Honkah. It's a performance. Now,
you've probably heard of Handel's Hallelely Chorus and the Massi
and all of course. Yeah, most people have no idea.
He also wrote an equally amazing piece about the story
of Hankkah. And what's interesting is it's hardly ever done.
(01:32):
And so last spring it had tunes that were very
popular among the major composers, like, for example, Beethoven wrote
a set of theme in variations on one of the
main tunes from this, and it's been kind of lost.
And I was playing a piece last spring that was
a set of theme in variations on this, and I
had to do some research and I realized, oh, this
is the story of Honkah. Why is this not done
(01:53):
every year? And so I've partnered with many of the
major temples in town, including the Temple in US forty
two at israel I Death Jesharun, the Jewish Heritage Fund,
and we're going to put on a show of handles
Judas Maccabeas on the seventeenth.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
That is fantastic. I knew you were going to explain
this all the way through. It's a great idea. I
got friends at most of those temples you just listed
right there too, So maybe we'll all lock arms and
come together for this together next Wednesday.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
Next Wednesday at the Temple at seven thirty pm, and
that's exactly what we're hoping for, because you know, the
thing to remember is that, sure it tells a Jewish story,
but this is something for everyone, and the music is
great for everyone.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
And one of the things it's a miracle story.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely, it's you know about the I think
it was mispronouncing this. A Slucid empire wanted to stop
the Jews from worshiping God. They wanted them to worship
the Greek gods instead, and Judas Maccabeus raised an army
and fought for the right to continue to be Jewish.
And of course one of the things about the story
is that it has an impact on the Christian story
(02:55):
as well, because had they been successful, who knows what
might have happened to Christianity later on.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
So true, yeah, and so yeah, this is nice coming together,
but you get to experience magnificent music.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
Absolutely, it's as if you love the Holily chorus by Handle,
you will absolutely love this piece. And it's been such
a joy to dig into it. It's been a joy
for the musicians to dig into it. Part of it
is that, you know, we do things like the Messiah
and the Nutcracker many times, and we love them, and
they're great, but this is also something new, and frankly,
Hanikah hasn't really gotten the sort of musical war horse
(03:30):
that it deserves. You know, if we do a holiday
Pops concert, there'll be a few tunes that are arranged
and it's fine and everyone's polite. But this is a
truly great work on the level of those works.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
So yeah, and I remember weird Al Yanka the Dead
Goy Boy or something else, like, that's not enough weird Al.
Speaker 4 (03:45):
Come on, hey, I love weird Al. Weird Al is magnificent.
But and we can use more of that every year.
But you know, we need something that can stand up
to the Messiah and the Nutcracker. And we found it.
And what's interesting is it was hiding and play in sight.
It was a very well known piece in the catalog.
People in school study it, and it just hasn't become
a yearly tradition. And we're hoping to start this. And
(04:09):
you know, the Messiah was not done everywhere until people
really had a vision to make it happen every year.
At the turn of the twentieth century. There were other
choral works much more popular than The Messiah that were
done more often, and it's only when people realized this
should be part of the holiday tradition that it became it.
So that's our mission, and like you said, part of
(04:29):
our mission with the Jewish Heritage Foundation is to make
this an inclusive, multi faith event for everyone in the community.
So we encourage everyone who loves music and loves the
holidays to come, no matter what your creed or what
you believe.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
We've been to bot mitzvahs before and people always say, dude,
you got here way too early. You Catholics don't know
all the timetable, or you should have gone two hours later.
My wife and I are like, we, lover, let's just
will be here for the whole ceremony.
Speaker 4 (04:58):
We do plan on starting on time. Part of that is,
part of that actually is just the musician ethos. You know,
if you play in a professional orchestra, professional group, they
say you can be almost anything except not on time.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Good points.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
Louisville's musical universe is pretty strong still too. We were
We've weathered, you know, the whole COVID slowdown, all the
other things, the taking music to other areas in Kentucky.
This has all just been a great outreach.
Speaker 4 (05:31):
Absolutely absolutely, it's it's been it's been really inspiring to
see how it's come back and how it's expanded. I mean,
I've I've talked about how much amazing work Teddy Abrams
has done here with the orchestra, and it just continues
to grow and grow and expand. And what's really impressive
about what he's done is he's actually gotten politicians on
both sides of the aisle in the State House to
(05:51):
support us, so which is really it's really you know,
he talks about this and hopefully this project too shows this.
It's it's many people say it, but it's true. Music
has the unique power to bring people together. All right,
So you mentioned the temple. That's where this is located,
forty two in Linekiln. That's right, Okay, next Wednesday night,
seven thirty.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
What do we do for tickets? Where do we go?
Speaker 4 (06:11):
You can go to our website Derby City Chamberfest dot
org and they'll be by the way. Just so you know,
this is it's a free concert with voluntary suggested donations.
So we're asking people to register and then you know,
we have a suggested donation of forty dollars for adults
ten dollars for students, ten dollars for kids. But we
(06:32):
want to make sure that economic hardship is no barrier
to anyone wanting to come. So please come. If you
can donate, that's wonderful, and if you can't, we would
still love to see you there.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Nicholas Finch, I hope this does catch on. This is
a brilliant idea of oh thank you, sir, to do
to yeah, to obviously spotlight given a higher musical profile
for Hanika Yeah.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
And also the other thing too is that the music
is itself is just really excellent, because there is sometimes
people that try to do this in other ways, but
they're not dealing with someone with the level of geniuses handle.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
So if RFK Junior does show up, I will do
my best to tell them to be quiet.
Speaker 4 (07:13):
If RFK Junior shows up, I'm gonna be sure to
wear a mask. That's all I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
It's all good. The Derby City Chamber Music Festival presenting
handles Judas Maccabeus and that is on Wednesday, December seventeen,
seven thirty pm at the Temple US forty two at
Lime Kiln Lane. Give that address again for people to
get ticket info.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
Uh Derby City Chamberfest dot org slash maccabias. But if
you go to Derby City Chamberfest dot org you'll be
able to find where you need to go. Great see you, Nicholas,
Great to see you too. Back soon on news Radio
eight forty whass
It's a Robert F. Kennedy Junior Christmas.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Jane Golbolls, Janglbolls, jangall all away. You say a shakin
of Vaccain, mad, I tell you no way.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Shelver Bell sell her Man, I can do five hundred, Pauli.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Maka.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
We have a member of the Louisville Orchestra in the
studio with us. He's also artistic director for the Derby
City Chamber Music Festival. Nicholas Finch. Wasn't that moving?
Speaker 4 (00:46):
I just don't know how anyone could present any holiday
music that could possibly measure.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Up exactly right. I just know my soul is now
stirred properly for the holiday season. It's good to see
you again. Good to see you too, Welcome back. I
know the a City Chamber Music Festival is coming up
this What are we talking about.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
Next or next week?
Speaker 1 (01:07):
This week?
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Yeah, so Wednesday, that's right. So our regular festivals in May,
but we've expanded throughout the year and we're doing a
special event next week for Honkah. It's a performance. Now,
you've probably heard of Handel's Hallelely Chorus and the Massi
and all of course. Yeah, most people have no idea.
He also wrote an equally amazing piece about the story
of Hankkah. And what's interesting is it's hardly ever done.
(01:32):
And so last spring it had tunes that were very
popular among the major composers, like, for example, Beethoven wrote
a set of theme in variations on one of the
main tunes from this, and it's been kind of lost.
And I was playing a piece last spring that was
a set of theme in variations on this, and I
had to do some research and I realized, oh, this
is the story of Honkah. Why is this not done
(01:53):
every year? And so I've partnered with many of the
major temples in town, including the Temple in US forty
two at israel I Death Jesharun, the Jewish Heritage Fund,
and we're going to put on a show of handles
Judas Maccabeas on the seventeenth.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
That is fantastic. I knew you were going to explain
this all the way through. It's a great idea. I
got friends at most of those temples you just listed
right there too, So maybe we'll all lock arms and
come together for this together next Wednesday.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
Next Wednesday at the Temple at seven thirty pm, and
that's exactly what we're hoping for, because you know, the
thing to remember is that, sure it tells a Jewish story,
but this is something for everyone, and the music is
great for everyone.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
And one of the things it's a miracle story.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely, it's you know about the I think
it was mispronouncing this. A Slucid empire wanted to stop
the Jews from worshiping God. They wanted them to worship
the Greek gods instead, and Judas Maccabeus raised an army
and fought for the right to continue to be Jewish.
And of course one of the things about the story
is that it has an impact on the Christian story
(02:55):
as well, because had they been successful, who knows what
might have happened to Christianity later on.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
So true, yeah, and so yeah, this is nice coming together,
but you get to experience magnificent music.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
Absolutely, it's as if you love the Holily chorus by Handle,
you will absolutely love this piece. And it's been such
a joy to dig into it. It's been a joy
for the musicians to dig into it. Part of it
is that, you know, we do things like the Messiah
and the Nutcracker many times, and we love them, and
they're great, but this is also something new, and frankly,
Hanikah hasn't really gotten the sort of musical war horse
(03:30):
that it deserves. You know, if we do a holiday
Pops concert, there'll be a few tunes that are arranged
and it's fine and everyone's polite. But this is a
truly great work on the level of those works.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
So yeah, and I remember weird Al Yanka the Dead
Goy Boy or something else, like, that's not enough weird Al.
Speaker 4 (03:45):
Come on, hey, I love weird Al. Weird Al is magnificent.
But and we can use more of that every year.
But you know, we need something that can stand up
to the Messiah and the Nutcracker. And we found it.
And what's interesting is it was hiding and play in sight.
It was a very well known piece in the catalog.
People in school study it, and it just hasn't become
a yearly tradition. And we're hoping to start this. And
(04:09):
you know, the Messiah was not done everywhere until people
really had a vision to make it happen every year.
At the turn of the twentieth century. There were other
choral works much more popular than The Messiah that were
done more often, and it's only when people realized this
should be part of the holiday tradition that it became it.
So that's our mission, and like you said, part of
(04:29):
our mission with the Jewish Heritage Foundation is to make
this an inclusive, multi faith event for everyone in the community.
So we encourage everyone who loves music and loves the
holidays to come, no matter what your creed or what
you believe.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
We've been to bot mitzvahs before and people always say, dude,
you got here way too early. You Catholics don't know
all the timetable, or you should have gone two hours later.
My wife and I are like, we, lover, let's just
will be here for the whole ceremony.
Speaker 4 (04:58):
We do plan on starting on time. Part of that is,
part of that actually is just the musician ethos. You know,
if you play in a professional orchestra, professional group, they
say you can be almost anything except not on time.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Good points.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
Louisville's musical universe is pretty strong still too. We were
We've weathered, you know, the whole COVID slowdown, all the
other things, the taking music to other areas in Kentucky.
This has all just been a great outreach.
Speaker 4 (05:31):
Absolutely absolutely, it's it's been it's been really inspiring to
see how it's come back and how it's expanded. I mean,
I've I've talked about how much amazing work Teddy Abrams
has done here with the orchestra, and it just continues
to grow and grow and expand. And what's really impressive
about what he's done is he's actually gotten politicians on
both sides of the aisle in the State House to
(05:51):
support us, so which is really it's really you know,
he talks about this and hopefully this project too shows this.
It's it's many people say it, but it's true. Music
has the unique power to bring people together. All right,
So you mentioned the temple. That's where this is located,
forty two in Linekiln. That's right, Okay, next Wednesday night,
seven thirty.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
What do we do for tickets? Where do we go?
Speaker 4 (06:11):
You can go to our website Derby City Chamberfest dot
org and they'll be by the way. Just so you know,
this is it's a free concert with voluntary suggested donations.
So we're asking people to register and then you know,
we have a suggested donation of forty dollars for adults
ten dollars for students, ten dollars for kids. But we
(06:32):
want to make sure that economic hardship is no barrier
to anyone wanting to come. So please come. If you
can donate, that's wonderful, and if you can't, we would
still love to see you there.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Nicholas Finch, I hope this does catch on. This is
a brilliant idea of oh thank you, sir, to do
to yeah, to obviously spotlight given a higher musical profile
for Hanika Yeah.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
And also the other thing too is that the music
is itself is just really excellent, because there is sometimes
people that try to do this in other ways, but
they're not dealing with someone with the level of geniuses handle.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
So if RFK Junior does show up, I will do
my best to tell them to be quiet.
Speaker 4 (07:13):
If RFK Junior shows up, I'm gonna be sure to
wear a mask. That's all I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
It's all good. The Derby City Chamber Music Festival presenting
handles Judas Maccabeus and that is on Wednesday, December seventeen,
seven thirty pm at the Temple US forty two at
Lime Kiln Lane. Give that address again for people to
get ticket info.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
Uh Derby City Chamberfest dot org slash maccabias. But if
you go to Derby City Chamberfest dot org you'll be
able to find where you need to go. Great see you, Nicholas,
Great to see you too. Back soon on news Radio
eight forty whass
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