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Already accustomed to singing in Hebrew, English, Yiddish, and Ladino, Central Jersey's Makhelat Hamercaz choir will also incorporate Spanish, Italian, and Korean into one of the songs in their upcoming slate of performances.

The 45-member choir's linguistically diverse rendition of Psalm 90, "Make a Joyful Noise," is just one example of the flavor of "Jewish Music Around the World," the theme for the group's concerts this year. Makhelat Hamercaz kicks off the tour at the Highland Park Public Library on Sunday, Jan. 24 at 3 p.m.

Makhelat Hamercaz will also sing "Lo Yisa Goy" with a Caribbean feel, "Ya Ribon Olam" in an Indian setting, "Tov Lehodos" in a setting from 19th-century Germany, and the classic Eastern European klezmer piece "Rumania." Cantor Anna West Ott of New Brunswick's Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple, a conductor for Makhelat Hamercaz, said the choir wants to showcase the variety of Jewish music and debunk the misconception that it doesn't extend much beyond klezmer.

"I think it's interesting to note that where they have moved around the world, Jews have kind of absorbed the host culture and reflected it back in their music," West Ott said.

"This is not music you would hear at services," she said of the upcoming concerts.

Similarly, with indigenous art forms in the United States including jazz, folk, and rock 'n' roll, "it's only natural that Jews have kind of absorbed these styles," West Ott said.

Founded seven years ago by West Ott and the group's other conductor, Hazzan Sheldon Levin of Congregation Neve Shalom in Metuchen, Makhelat Hamercaz (mercaz is the Hebrew word for center, as the choir is in Central Jersey) has members ranging in age from their 30s to an 85-year-old, mostly from Middlesex County.

Choir members belong to 15 different synagogues, and some don't have any synagogue affiliation. While synagogues and styles of prayer often divide the Jewish community into different sectors, Makhelat Hamercaz aims to do just the opposite, Levin said.

"The main goal is to look for something that would bring the Jewish community together," Levin said.

Since many local synagogues have their own children's and adult choirs, Makhelat Hamercaz called every single synagogue in Middlesex County and chose Sunday night for its once-a-week rehearsals because that time didn't conflict with any others, Levin explained.

To allow choir members to read languages which they don't know, the choir always performs from sheets with songs transliterated into English letters; that is particularly important with Hebrew, Levin said, since the language is written from right to left rather than from left to right like English.

At performances, audience members also receive the transliterations and hear summaries of the songs' history and composers.

"In a way it's kind of adult education for the people in the choir," Levin said.

Past themes for Makhelat Hamercaz concerts have included Israel's 60th anniversary in 2008 and Pslams in American, Israeli, and European settings last year. Also last year, the choir asked a composer to write a setting for them for the first time, Levin said.

West Ott is a musicologist who helps the group interpret music, while Levin is "a show guy" and "really an audience person," said Beverly Kaplan of Highland Park, the choir's president.

The common denominator between the two conductors?

"They both work us very hard," Kaplan said.

The choir sings with musical accompaniment on the piano and percussion. Besides singing for Jewish audience at venues such as the Martin & Edith Stein Assisted Living Residence in Somerset, the group likes to perform before interfaith crowds so they aren't always singing to the same people, or "singing to the choir," as Kaplan put it.

"The aim of the choir is to educate and to entertain," Kaplan said.

All choir members are volunteers and "it's a joyful endeavor for everyone involved," Kaplan said. For the Jan. 24 performance, the Highland Park Public Library is located at 31 North Fifth Ave. in Highland Park. The choir will follow with a March 14 performance at the East Brunswick Public Library and their annual spring concert on June 10.

For more information on Makhelat Hamercaz, contact West Ott at annaruach@aol.com or Hazzan Levin at can2r11@optonline.net.