Open Mic Night: YU’s Finest
For Miriam Bluth (SCW ‘24) and Flora Shemtob (SCW ‘24), music is not just a hobby — it's a passion. That’s what led Bluth, along with several other students, to form the Music Club last year, with the goal of creating a space for music creativity and expression in YU.
While Bluth and Shemtob are a music major and minor respectively, they wanted to form a different type of musical outlet. “It was just that I liked playing and performing and there was no spot to do it,” explained Bluth. “I knew there were other musicians around and never got to meet any of them. So I figured this would be a good way to connect.”
The Commentator met with Bluth —the club’s president, and Shemtob — head of PR, to discuss the highly successful Open Mic Night they ran last week.
The event, originally Bluth’s initiative, is now one of YU’s most popular club gatherings, attracting over 150 attendees. However, the event, which they spearheaded alongside other music club president Danny Kutin (YC ‘25), was not without its hiccups.
Due to the dreaded (overrated) Feb. 13 snowstorm that caused widespread panic and NYC Mayor Adams to shut down New York City public schools, YU intercampus shuttles were canceled. This complicated logistical matters, as the event was scheduled for that night at the Schottenstein Theater on Wilf Campus. Shemtob immediately sprung into action, and coordinated with the Office of Student Life (OSL) to fund transportation for the Beren students. “OSL was extremely helpful to us … There were girls who offered to run the Ubers as point people. They made it work,” said Shemtob.
The event itself had a total of fourteen acts, featuring multiple genres, including rock, classical and pop. The night began with Hatikvah sung by Josh Shapiro (YC ‘25), accompanied by Miriam Bluth on keyboard and Ned Krasnopolsky (YC ‘24) on violin. Both Bluth and Shemtob appeared twice with different bands on piano and guitar, while Kutin could be seen playing drums several times as well.
The acts ranged from original songwriting, Schneur Schusterman (YC ‘26) and Yonatan Beer’s (YC ‘25) saxophone-keyboard duo, a parody on Avril Lavigne’s 2002 hit “Sk8tr Boi'' by the student band “My Roommate's Fiancee,” to the “Block Arrangers” take on the “History of the USSR” to the tune of Tetris.
When asked about her thoughts on the event, Racheli Berger (SCW ‘25) stated that “The Block Arrangers performance stood out to me because they were so into it, the audience was very hyped up, and the song they sang was hilarious. This is my favorite event at YU. It did not disappoint.”
“It was really enjoyable, and provided an incredible platform for different individuals to unite in a shared love and devotion of music,” Tehila Bitton (SCW ‘25) shared. “Everyone was incredibly talented and the crowd was warm and supportive. The music club invested so much work into the event. It paid off!”
Even though the club is relatively new, it has evidently become ingrained in the heart of YU.
In regard to the future, Bluth and Shemtob informed me that their “Battle of the Bands” event will return this March.
This is just the beginning.
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Photo Caption: Students playing at the Open Mic Night
Photo Credit: Lev Ershler
