Amidah A Silent Prayer began as a song cycle written by Anna Hirst Friedman of 10 short works for tenor and piano. Written over 15 months in the aftermath of October 7, 2023, it touches on themes of children in war, the hostages, and the rise of antisemitism in Australia. The work has since been reimagined with new compositions, including Bondi, for baritone performed by Dr. Simon Lobelson, Natalya Valentyna on piano, Lara Goodridge on violin and projected digital images by Dan Friedman. Through a blend of music and performance art the work integrates Joanna Weinberg’s clown character Hepzibah alongside Anna’s own Pain Statue persona. Together they explore themes of grief, trauma, loss, humour, resilience, and the tension between pain and hope. The work creates an innovative and deeply human exploration of contemporary Jewish experience and communal healing.

Disclaimer: This work comes with a rating of 18+

Themes from October 7th are present in the work

Anna Hirst Friedman

Composer, Director & Pain Statue

Since 2023, Anna has established a distinctive voice in the classical composition scene, recently earning recognition as an Associate Artist representative with the Australian Music Centre. As a grant recipient and commissioned artist who composes, produces, and directs her own works, she has brought her music to prestigious stages like the City Recital Hall and the Sydney Opera House. Currently, she is expanding her portfolio by developing new choral pieces for Chorus Ecclesiae, composing a new contemporary dance work, and launching a year end concert initiative dedicated to promoting women composers which will include her works.

Joanna Weinberg

Clown Hepzibah

Joanna Weinberg is known for creating musical works that centre women' s voices, Jewish identity, and forgotten Australian histories. Recent musical works include La Luna, the story of Dona Gracia Nasi, The Millers Point Songbook and Dangerous When Wet, the story of Fanny Durack and Mina Wylie. Joanna is also a seasoned performer. Her comic monologue Brief Tales, a memoir in underpants, played the Edinburgh Fringe in 2025. This is not her first foray into clowning, she worked as a humour valet in dementia care for several years.

Natalya Valentyna

Pianist

Natalya is a Sydney-based pop culture pianist, collaborative pianist, orchestrator/arranger and award-nominated musical director. She regularly performs with various orchestras including SSO, TMO and ACO, records for the screen, and has toured internationally performing Final Fantasy solo concerts, alongside frequently producing her own solo concerts based on film, anime and video games. Natalya also works in musical theatre, performs at weddings, corporate and private events, and regularly records solo albums while running her YouTube channel Natalya Plays Piano.

Dr. Simon Lobelson

Baritone

Dr. Simon Lobelson is a Royal College of Music graduate and Helpmann Award nominee who has thrilled audiences across 4 continents in over 95 roles. A versatile champion of new music, he’s performed with Royal Opera Covent Garden, English National Opera, Opera Australia, SSO, QSO and festivals in Sydney, Holland and Lucerne under conductors including Boulez, Dutoit and Bonynge. Esteemed educator and national adjudicator, he lectures full-time at Sydney Conservatorium of Music, specialising in contemporary opera research, presented at international conferences. Numerous commercial recordings feature his acclaimed voice.

Lara Goodridge

Violinist

Lara Goodridge is a singer, songwriter, composer, arranger and violinist and web designer from Sydney, Australia. With over 37 years as a professional musician, Lara spent decades sharing her time between ARIA-nominated electric string quartet FourPlay, ARIA-nominated French band, Baby et Lulu, and is currently still an active member of folk ensemble, Miriam Lieberman Trio. She can also be seen in her Yiddish project 'The Bagel Sisters' as well as a regular performing member of SHIR. She is a committee member for both the National Council of Jewish Women Australia and SHIR.

Estelle Rozinski

Visual Artist

Estelle Rozinski is a multimedia artist, educator and curator whose practice reflects a deep commitment to Australia’s diverse communities, both past and present. Her curatorial work explores contemporary Australian identity through the lens of Indigenous, Hindu, Jewish and Korean artists, while her historical research focuses on Jewish life in Poland before 1939. Estelle recognises the power of artists to challenge, provoke and push boundaries. She believes that art, like music, can take people on a journey of the heart, fostering knowledge, understanding and healing.

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