Welcome to the MOCA Foundation!
The MOCA Foundation has been committed to developing music education and promoting music culture and performances within the Jewish community in the Netherlands. Founded by Mr. Roi Shabbat and Mr. Yaniv Nachum, our organization’s focus is to provide a high level of musical education while honoring the unique cultural heritage of Jewish music.
Our activities include performances at retirement homes such as Beth Shalom, hospitals like Sinai and Amstelland, and collaborations with other Jewish organizations, including Chabbad, Hinneni, CIA, Zichron Menachem, JBO, Israeli Embassy, Yad va Shem, and many more.
We also provide music education to the community’s children and adults by organizing ensembles, orchestras, special educational concerts, lectures, music lessons, and music workshops. Due to increasing demand for our services and a lack of funding, Mr. Shabbat and Mr. Nachum established the MOCA Foundation (Muziek Onderwijs Cultuur en Activiteiten) with the sole purpose of continuing and expanding our non-profit activities.
Our goal is to provide additional music education programs in schools, participate in and give concerts at events, and arrange educational concerts and workshops for the benefit of the community. We aim to extend our reach to institutions such as Beth Shalom, Sinai, Amstelland, NIW and bring music and joy to those who need it the most. Join us in our mission to promote Jewish music culture and education in the Netherlands. Contact us to learn more about how you can support our organization or participate in our programs
“Music education can help spark a child’s imagination or ignite a lifetime of passion. When you provide a child with new worlds to explore and challenges to tackle, the possibilities are endless.”
Hillary Clinton
PERFORMANCES:
MOCA would like to integrate more music into the activities of the community. With the extensive knowledge and experience MOCA’s founders carry we are able to provide for a
wide range of ensembles, orchestras, and combos for every occasion. As music plays such an important cultural role in every community MOCA is aiming for bringing this culture to complete the
event. The performances are playing a big role not only for the event but also for the performers. As MOCA’s close collaboration with CMO, we intend to bring the ensembles CMO is coaching in order to give CMO young students the opportunity to play, grow and experience music and take an active part in giving back!!
Performances are not limited to an event! bring joy to the Beth Shalom residents in Poerim or play for the residents of Sinai in Chanoeka, have a musical parade at the heart of the Jewish neighborhood, or play for the kids of Rosj Pina at Kabalat Sjabat; all of these activities have been done previously by CMO and can be extended to regular day-to-day activities at the community.
MOCA’s ACTIVITIES
At MOCA, we offer a wide range of music education activities, from general music education workshops to instrumental workshops, educational concerts, and performance training and workshops.
Our general music education workshops are designed to introduce the basic elements of music, such as rhythm, range, volume, conducting, and movement, through fun and playful games and activities. These workshops can vary from one lesson to weekly lessons. As the workshop progresses, more musical elements are introduced, such as emotions in music, analogies in music, musical stories, and instrument identification.
Our instrumental workshops are designed to introduce a musical instrument to the group, giving them the opportunity to play, explain, and experience the instrument firsthand. The group will learn about the specific instrument, the family to which it belongs, and the differences and similarities between instruments. We believe that kids should experience the instrument, so we let the group play, touch it, and see how it works.
Our educational concerts are a great tool to stimulate an individual’s interest in music. We present concerts at different levels to different age groups, from kids to adults. An educational concert can consist of an introduction to instruments in a playing situation, telling a story with music, explaining a style or genre, or even a lecture concert about a particular musical style, cultural concept, or historical significance.
Our performance workshops aim to give participants the experience of being on stage, working towards a goal, and taking an active part in a concert. This can take many forms, such as playing a rhythm, singing, using electronics, and any other musical means to integrate the participants into the performance.
Contact us to learn more about our programs and how you can get involved.
ACTIVITIES AND INTEGRATION
Music has no borders! The children of the Chieder, Rosj Pina, Maimonides, and other schools in the area of Amsterdam/Amstelveen have shown a great example of it for the past six years.
Jewish children from every background are coming together every Monday evening to participate in the CMO orchestras and ensembles. they come together to learn, experience, and play. In MOCA we would like to extend this concept and bring people together to learn about music enjoy music and create music. Whether arranging a workshop, concert, lecture, or other activities we aim to create a joint cultural experience.
OUR MOTIVATION
At MOCA, we are passionate about music education and the unique cultural heritage of Jewish music. We believe that providing music education today helps cultivate tomorrow’s music lovers.
Music plays an essential role in our lives and culture. It stimulates the brain, encourages creativity, develops analytical thinking, improves coordination, and, simply put, makes us smarter. Music also unites and bridges communities, promotes critical thinking, and fosters enjoyment.
We care deeply about sharing the heritage and culture of Jewish music with the community. Our goal is to bring high-quality music education and performances to those who need it the most, from children to adults and the elderly.
Moreover, we believe that every student at CMO has a gift to share with the world. We provide opportunities for our students to perform and be part of something big, something that they can be proud of. For example, the performances we organize at Beth Shalom have taught us that the value of our music education is not only in the level of performance but also in the sense of accomplishment a child feels after making an elderly person happy, even for just a few minutes.
In short, we believe in the transformative power of music education, and we are committed to making it accessible to all.