Linda Press Wulf has been stocking up on bedding and making trips to Costco.
That’s because the Berkeley mother of two is spending the first week of the new year as a very gracious host. A dozen college students, members of her son Ami’s Jewish a cappella group from Tufts University, are taking up residence in her home while they perform at local synagogues, day schools and other venues as part of their winter tour.
“Two of them are sleeping in a large closet, and a couple of them in a loft and lots of them on the floor,” said Wulf, who is also cooking meals for the group. “You have to first check these days to see who’s vegetarian, who’s vegan, who doesn’t eat flour. I’ve got a spreadsheet.”
This is the second time Wulf has hosted the members of Shir Appeal, as the a cappella group is called. She fondly remembers hearing them rehearse in her home during their last Bay Area tour two years ago.
“I’d come down in the morning, and they were warming their voices up before their morning gig. They’d come home, have lunch and practice for the afternoon gig. They did actually sing for their breakfast, their lunch and their supper,” Wulf said.
Shir Appeal performs a wide variety of Jewish music, including traditional liturgical songs and modern Israeli pop songs, in English, Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian and Ladino. Favorites include “Ana Bekoach,” “Yerush-alayim Shel Zahav” and Leonard Cohen’s “Halle-lujah.” Every winter break, the singers travel to a city where at least one member lives and perform at venues in that area. During their 12-concert Bay Area tour, which begins Friday, Jan. 2 at Temple Beth Hillel in Richmond and ends Jan. 11 at the Reutlinger Community for Jewish Living in Danville, they will perform at synagogues, the Peninsula Jewish Community Center in Foster City, Jewish day schools and and other venues.
“As the president, as a senior, I’m excited to see the group explore this new opportunity for singing and see the audiences interact with each other,” said Ami Wulf, 22. “The group members end up shmoozing with audiences afterward and make some Jewish geography connections.”
Though all of Shir Appeal’s music is Jewish, all of its members are not: Three in the close-knit group come from other backgrounds.
Sophomore Lisa Meehan, 19, grew up teaching Sunday school at Skyland Church in Los Gatos and performing in musicals and choirs in school. When she got to Tufts, she auditioned for Shir Appeal because she was attracted by the friendly group of people.
“I knew they were a Jewish group, and that was really intriguing because I’ve always been interested in people from different cultures and different faiths,” Meehan said.
Now Meehan will get to share her faith tradition with her Tufts family: Shir Appeal will perform at Skyland Church on Sunday, Jan. 4. Shir Appeal members will also stay in Meehan’s family’s Los Gatos home for three nights after they leave the Wulfs.
“My mom has been borrowing extra pillows and extra blankets,” Meehan said of the preparations. “We have a couple members who keep kosher, so my parents are frantically trying to figure out what kosher is.”
Shir Appeal kicks off its Bay Area tour at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 2 at Temple Beth Hillel, 801 Park Central St., Richmond. For a complete listing of concerts, see www.shirappeal.com.