In a grand send-off, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) completed its first tour in three years with a performance at New York’s legendary Carnegie Hall on Monday.

The tour marked the first under its newest maestro, Lahav Shani, who is the first native Israeli to lead the so-called “orchestra of exiles,” whose founding members were saved from the Holocaust.

The IPO performed in California cities including Costa Mesa, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Palo Alto, with a scheduled event in Miami canceled due to Hurricane Nicole. But, the opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall provided the tour with an extra sense of prestige.

The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra rehearses before its Nov. 14 performance at Carnegie Hall. Credit: AFIPO via Twitter.

“I haven’t conducted that much in America. But still, whenever I come on the stage now with this philharmonic, there’s a lot of expectation,” said Shani. “But, it feels like the audience really knows and is waiting to hear the orchestra. And I find such a symbiotic relationship with them. We’ve been working now for the last couple of years, very intensively. So it’s a very natural thing for us.”

“The love between Israel and New York was felt strongly at Carnegie Hall and there is nothing like the feeling of pride and hope that is created when thousands in the audience stand for ‘Hatikvah’ together,” Danielle Ames Spivak, executive vice president and CEO of the American Friends of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, told JNS. “In an era of too much division, music is a welcome respite. Lahav’s debut at Carnegie was magical and momentous.”