Indianapolis Jewish community members Inna Kislyuk and Ingrid Bellman are participating in Nigun2Gether (Nigun is melody in Hebrew), a musical training program hosted by the Western Galilee Partnership2Gether program. Kislyuk and Bellman, who are both professional music teachers, are teaching monthly music lessons to several Israeli students via Zoom.
Bellman worked at the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for more than 40 years. While she is now retired, she still teaches music to students.
She said she listens to her Israeli students play their music and follows up with comments and reflections. While she speaks Hebrew, she has worked for most of her career as a musician in the United States. She has enjoyed reconnecting with the language through music. That renewed connection has brought back many special memories, she said.
“It was a very joyful thing to get back to speaking my language about music,” Bellman said. “It was extremely special for me.”
Both teachers said they have been highly impressed with the students, the quality of their playing, and their dedication to the craft.
Kislyuk is both a music teacher and a neonatal nurse. She is involved with several Partnership2Gether programs, as she enjoys learning and participating in different cultures’ traditions.
“That is the beauty of music,” Kislyuk said. “It unites us no matter where we live, what our cultural backgrounds are, and that’s what makes this program so powerful.”
Kislyuk said she was unsure about the idea for the program at first, as it can be difficult to simultaneously teach music and manage technical difficulties and glitches over Zoom.
But the program, she said, has been a great success. It has been a special opportunity to connect with Israel, the land that she loves, while she cannot visit during the pandemic.
“What a wonderful opportunity this has been to meet people and to find my way back to Israel,” Kislyuk said. “Seeing the results of our partnership has been really rewarding.”
Kislyuk said she has loved connecting with other professional music teachers in Israel, and has been inspired by the students, who are talented and invested in practicing their instruments. She said she is excited to meet those teachers and students on her next trip to Israel.
Until then, she is looking forward to watching and celebrating the Israeli students’ final Nigun2Gether performance on July 8. 
“Music unites us,” Kislyuk said. “Art unites us. It’s heartbreaking to see so much hatred in the world right now. I believe that arts and dancing are tools that are capable of uniting and bringing us together, and that’s what’s so good about art. It is so simple and yet so powerful.”
If you would like to learn about opportunities to participate in Partnership2Gether programs, contact Israel and Overseas Director Michele Boukai, at mboukai@jfgi.org.