A special recital of chamber music by a trio of musicians, including Rabbi Dovid Lipson on the piano, took place in Los Angeles recently. Funds raised at the recital benefited Kollel Aliyos Shlomo of Yerushalayim.
Rabbi Lipson is the founder and rosh kollel of Kollel Aliyos Shlomo of Yerushalayim, which is named for Rav Shlomo Freifeld, zt”l, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Sh’or Yoshuv in Far Rockaway, Queens. Rabbi Lipson was guided by his rebbe, Rav Freifeld, in his Torah studies and was encouraged by him to pursue his musical talents as well. While music would be part of Dovid Lipson’s growth, a career as a speech pathologist was his chosen profession.
In 1982 Rabbi Lipson and his family made aliyah. Over the next 18 years, he engaged in three careers – Torah studies, music, and speech pathology. His love of Torah and admiration for his rebbe, Rav Freifeld, inspired him to open a kollel in his rebbe’s name – Kollel Aliyos Shlomo of Yerushalayim.
In order to alleviate the tremendous financial burden of his kollel, Rabbi Lipson used his God-given musical talents by organizing and performing at a series of benefit concerts in major cities in the United States.
The Los Angeles recital featured piano trios by Rachmaninoff and Mendelssohn. Joining Rabbi Lipson was award-winning violin soloist Dimitry Olevsky and world-renowned cellist Maksim Velichkin.