Hazzan Sofer’s Monthly Message

Festival of Jewish Music

Thu, 1 Jan 2009 12:00:00 -0800

On Sunday afternoon, December 16, we celebrated and performed in our first San Gabriel Valley Jewish Federation-sponsored “Festival of Jewish Music,” our first joint community concert. And frankly it started with me, together with Cantor Paul Buch, approaching Benzy Kogan — the then director of the Jewish Federation — with this idea. Since then, there were many moments that I felt that we had taken on something too big.

For many years, during the winter holiday period, there was a similar concert in Orange County. This involved many of the different synagogues’ choirs, cantors, rabbis and others who would perform in the Orange County Performing Arts Center on a Sunday afternoon, literally filling the house of over 1000 or more. A wealthy member of the Jewish Community underwrote the concert and everyone helped to make it happen. In talking to my colleagues in the OC, I found that it was a logistic nightmare but in the end everyone had a good time.

We started planning for our own concert last spring and even though we are a much smaller community the logistic nightmare started right away. Just getting five or six different cantors together on the same day for a lunch meeting with the Jewish Federation director was difficult. You know how it is — everyone had a different opinion of what should we do, finding a date that we were all available, etc. But somehow we managed to get most people on board with only a few glitches on the way.

Last Saturday I was still having nightmares that no one would show up except the participants. There were enough of us cantors, rabbis and choir members, to fill only one-fifth of the sanctuary at Congregation Shaarei Torah, and so we would just sing to each other and that would be enough. We picked Shaarei Torah for its central location in the valley.

To my great surprise, we had a packed house of close to 300 participants and attendees, of all ages. We had the families of our participants starting from our B’nai Simcha preschoolers, through the youth and teen choirs of PJTC, Temple Beth David, and Temple Beth Israel (Pomona) with some help from a few Chaim Weizmann students. We also had our adult choirs also from these same synagogues plus choirs from Temple Beth Shalom of Whittier, Temple Sinai of Glendale, and acting rabbi Jay Sherwood from Rancho Cucamonga. Many others just wanted to come, listen, sing along, and be a part of this community event. The mood was wonderfully festive and happy and I think that everyone who came was very glad to be there. That is what we wanted, to have a happy community sharing this Jewish experience together at a time when we seem to be engulfed in other’s holidays.

Needless to say, I slept much better on Sunday night!

I would like to thank my wonderful choirs and the spouses and parents who always support us and our activities. I would like to thank Edie Taylor for preparing flyers and making sure that the information got out to the community. I would especially like to thank Cantor Paul Buch of Temple Beth Israel of Pomona for jumping in and handling not only his share of the administrative work but also mine as I began to work on the PJTC production of The Music Man. And thank you to the other cantors who also worked hard to prepare their respective choirs and sing together in our cantors’ quartet: Cantor Mimi Haselkorn, Cantor Jay Harwitt, and Cantor Mariana Gindlin. I would like to thank Jason Moss and the Jewish Federation for helping to make it happen. Thank you to Andrew Chapin, our sound engineer who is always ready to help us out in any circumstance and in any venue. Thank you to our percussionist, Karolyn Berkman. Thank you to my son, Leeav Sofer, for accompanying us all on piano and clarinet and giving us his version of Jerry Lee Lewis when the rabbis sang, “I Have a Little Dreidel” western style. And thank you to Rabbi Joshua for singing it with a cowboy hat on! Thank you to Marjorie Ludwig who worked with the Temple Beth Israel choirs and Harriet at Shaarei Torah for helping us in the facility.

Our goal is that this will be our First Annual Community Concert and that it will grow from year to year. Now we can get down to work on The Music Man. Please mark your calendars for February 28 and March 1 and plan to be at PJTC singing “76 Trombones!”

Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year,

Cantor Judy

Havu l’Adonai

Mon, 1 Dec 2008 12:00:33 -0800

One of the complaints that we hear from congregants who do not come often to services is that they feel uncomfortable because they are not familiar with the melodies and prayers. A few years ago we sent out a Friday night CD, V’Shamru, in order for you to become familiar with some of the melodies that we do on a regular basis. At the same time we published a Friday night Ma’ariv Service transliteration and translation in order to allow all of our congregants the opportunity to follow all of our prayers. In 2004, we also sent out a High Holy Day CD for the same reason, to help you become familiar with some of the High Holy Day prayers and melodies. This last CD, Havu l’Adonai, is our Shabbat morning offering.

The prayers stay the same from week to week but the melodies we use can change. In choosing melodies, I have usually tried to stay with the most common ones that you would hear when you come to services. Although we now use instruments on a regular basis for the Friday night service, we still lead the Shabbat morning service as a traditional a capella service and therefore rarely add instruments unless it is for a special service. Both the Rabbi and I enjoy adding musical instruments but we also both appreciate the fact that we have regular congregants who do not feel comfortable with this accompaniment and therefore we refrain from using it. We also believe that we need to continue the tradition of the nusach, the traditional themes and melodies used to identify the different services and holidays.

As I began producing this CD and deciding which melodies I wanted to use, I decided to ask John Guest, a Shabbat morning regular attendee, to participate with us in the recording. Not only is John very familiar with the melodies, but he has also brought melodies to this service that we weren’t familiar with. Unknown to many, John has a B.A. in music and is also a gifted clarinetist. Both the Rabbi and I use him to substitute for us during services. He has also become a torah reader as well as baal tefilah, chanting P’sukei D’zimrah and Shacharit during High Holy Day services.

I also decided to add in to the mix the accompaniment of Nimrod Nol on violin and Duvid Swirsky on guitar and bass. They have both participated often in our services, particularly Nimrod, and were able to lend different styles to the melodies such as middle eastern, klezmer, bossa nova, and bluegrass. We would never be able to do some of these interpretations during the service, but it gives you, the congregation, an opportunity to hear some of what kind of music is out in the Jewish musical world. Throughout history, religious music has been influenced by secular music as it changes and evolves, and we are part of that evolution.

For those of you who feel the need to sit down and follow all of the words, a PJTC Shabbat morning transliteration will be published in the next few months for you to use and peruse while listening to the CD.

Ultimately my goal is to teach my congregation. I want you to feel the musical magic that is Shabbat! I want you to familiarize yourselves with the melodies and feel that even if you can’t sing all of the words, you can hum along and even clap your hands. While preparing and deciding on the different mixes I played the raw master cut for many different friends and family. I was happily surprised to see the reaction of the younger generation — even the non-Jewish ones — who listened to the music while clapping their hands and stamping their feet, often not even being familiar with the melodies. It is a fun, exciting recording. Please listen to it in your cars, on your iPods, in your homes, as Jewish background music, and any time that you want to be uplifted.

We give you our musical neshoba. Enjoy!

Cantor Judy

P.S. Producing a synagogue CD for the congregation has become a common practice. There are many CDs available.

Community Concert

Sat, 1 Nov 2008 12:00:54 -0700

First of all, I would like to thank Rabbi Levine-Grater. This was our sixth year of working together on the pulpit, and I appreciate his leadership, support and flexibility. Thank you to all who participated in this year's High Holy Day services. Last month I thanked the choir and musicians but left out a new participant, Carolyn Kunin, who has graced us with her beautiful voice this year. I would also like to say a special thank you to the teens who participated in the Martyrology and spent extra time preparing: Asher Butnick, Benjamin and Sara Charney, Kara Cohen, Tovah Goodman, Daniel Holland-Moritz, Brandon Mittman, Leeav Sofer, Rachel Weisz, and Hayley Yoskowitz. Also thank you to our three adult readers, Neil Brown, John Carlton, and George Roegler. Another thank you goes to Robert Brown and Ruben Ahumado and our custodial staff who made sure that we were set up properly and helped in every little emergency.

This year we have an exciting and different kind of concert planned. On December 14 we will be participating in a community-wide concert sponsored by the Jewish Federation of San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys. Having lived in Orange County for most of my life, I was impressed with the fact that for many years the Jewish Federation of Orange County would sponsor such a concert, inviting all of the synagogues to participate using their choirs, cantors and rabbis. The Orange County Performing Arts Center has always filled its 3000-seat house for the event.

Along these lines we are creating an opportunity for us all to come together during the winter holiday period, with our own choirs joining together to lift up their voices in song as one entity. The cantors, too, will be joining together as an ensemble, while the rabbis will surprise us. We will be participating in this concert at Shaarei Torah in Arcadia, a convenient middle of the road location for our valley.

Please be a part of this opportunity to not only see your own choirs and members participate, but also share the fun and excitement with our neighboring congregations. More info about tickets will follow in my December article.

Just a reminder that auditions for The Music Man begin on November 2 after Hebrew school at 12:15 PM, then continue on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, November 4 and 6 at 6:15 PM. All auditions will take place in the Lounge. Please be prepared to sing a song. The song does not have to be from the show and can be anything that you want. If you do have sheet music, please bring it with you. If you can't make any of these dates and times, please let me know so we can set up another time. I hope to see you there!

b'Shalom and blessings.

Shiru L'adonai
Shir Hadash
Shiru L'adonai
Kol Ha-aretz

Hazzan Judy Sofer

Thank You and Auditions

Wed, 1 Oct 2008 12:00:44 -0700

Thank you to my wonderful choir for their time, effort and beautiful voices for these High Holy Days.

Sopranos: Sara Charney, Annie Cheslow, Kara Cohen, Shira Goodman, Tovah Goodman, Sarah Konakowitz, Roz Scherr, and Alicia Richardson

Altos: Karolyn Berkman, Karen Hochman Brown, Edeena Gordon, Sondra Dreshner, Ilaine Lapidus, Miriam Shenfeld, Linda Rourman, Rachel Weisz, and Hayley Yoskowitz.

Tenors: Neil Brown, Asher Butnik, Patricia Sullivan, and Dale Zeigler.

Baritones: John Carlton, Benjamin Charney, Steve Edberg, Brandon Mittman, Gary Mortimer, and George Roegler.

Conductor: Connie Woodson

Accompanist: Leeav Sofer

Flute: Sarah Weisz

Cello: Tina Soule

Auditions for The Music Man will take place in the lounge: The dates are Sunday, November 2 at 12:15 PM; Tuesday, November 4 and Thursday November 6 at 6:15 PM. If you cannot make one of these dates, please talk to me and we will arrange another appointment.

Please be prepared to sing something. You can select a song from the show or bring in something else. Cantor Jay, who will be the Music Director, will be present to play the piano and we will record the auditions. We will also have you do readings for parts. Dancers are also needed. We will use anyone who is interested and can be at most rehearsals. We understand that there can be time conflicts and will deal with them one at a time, depending on your personal situations.

Feel free to audition for whatever parts you are interested in. We will work around vocal ranges and your ages. You do not need to be an experienced singer to participate. Also, there may be a certain amount of doubling of parts so you may have a part and then be one of the townspeople too. The parts are:

Conductor
Charlie Cowell, a rival salesman
Harold Hill, a dynamic con man, Baritone; A flat-High F
Mayor Shinn, a blustery politician, non-singing
The Quartet:
Ewart Dunlop, Oliver Hix, Jacey Squires, Olin Britt, four judgmental school board members
Marcellus Washburn, Harold’s chummy friend, Tenor, G-High A
Tommy Djilas, the town “bad boy”
Marian Paroo, Stuffy, “stuck-up” town librarian and music teacher, Soprano, Low G-High A
Mrs. Paroo, Marian’s Irish mom, Mezzo-Soprano, A flat-E flat
Amaryllis, Marian’s young piano student, Alto, C-E
Winthrop Paroo, Marian’s lisping baby brother, Alto, C-E flat
Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn, Mayor Shinn’s peacock wife, Alto, D-D
Zaneeta Shinn, the Mayor’s daffy daughter
Gracie Schinn, another daughter
Alma Hix, Gossipy wife of a Quartet member
Maud Dunlop, Gossipy wife of a Quartet member
Ethel Toffelmier, the “pianola” girl
Mrs. Squires, Gossipy wife of a Quartet member
Constable Lock
Traveling Salesmen, Newspaper Readers, River City Townspeople, River City Kids

If you have never been in a play, this is a wonderful community building experience. Don’t hesitate to get involved! If you have any questions at all please feel free to call me at the office or email me at cantor@pjtc.net.

G’mar Hatima Tovah!

Hazzan Judy Sofer

High Holy Days 5759

Mon, 1 Sep 2008 12:00:05 -0700

As we prepare for the High Holy Days, I have the pleasure of seeing how my choir has grown. One of the concepts of a congregational choir is that it is a gathering place for temple members with the common interest of Jewish music. They come from all walks of life and might never find each other out in the world, but when they arrive for rehearsal on a Tuesday evening they put their voices together in song that raises goose bumps on the back of my arms.

We not only have our regular choir members coming in full force, but this year the high school teens who have been singing with me for the last two years have also joined us. They are an incredible asset to the choir with their musical knowledge, experience, and lovely voices. It is wonderful to be able to involve them at this age when they often emotionally move away to become more active in extracurricular activities outside of the synagogue. It is usually too much for them to keep up a weekly involvement after school starts, but as a summer activity we not only benefit from their participation, but it also gives them a chance to become more familiar with High Holy Days services. Hopefully they will continue to be musically involved in the future, wherever they live. This experience starts as one of the electives in the Tichon choir program so if you have children who are interested in pursuing this path, please encourage them to get involved.

For those who like to sing but are unable to make a yearly commitment, please consider getting involved in our musical this year. Although The Music Man is not a Jewish musical, the music is wonderfully accessible, and the cast includes people of all ages. No one is too old or too young. We will be rehearsing on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and some Sunday afternoons. The performances are on February 28/March1 and the last week there will be rehearsals Sunday afternoon and every weekday evening except for Friday. We will have auditions at the beginning of November. I will give you the times and place in next month's FLAME. By the way, we are also interested in finding musicians to participate in our orchestra for the show. If you would like to be involved, please get in touch with either Jeff Landau, who is helping to organize our musicians, or myself.

A few of you have mentioned that you are interested in joining the adult b'nei mitzvah class. I am hoping to begin a new class after the show is over, sometime in the spring. Usually we meet on Sunday mornings in my office during Hebrew School. This is also a fairly lengthy commitment, usually about 16 months. We follow the school schedule for the most part, so that if your children do not have to be at LBSRS that day then we don't schedule classes. As part of my curriculum I teach beginning Hebrew reading for adults for the first part of the class, usually about 3-4 months. However, if you want to get a jump-start, you can join Nurith Brier's beginning Hebrew class in order to start familiarizing yourself with the Hebrew. Contact Nurith, her classes will start on September 4. If any of you are interested in learning to chant Torah, Haftorah, or any of the Megillot that we chant for the festivals, please get in touch with me.

I am proud to announce that we will be participating in the first annual Community Concert on Sunday, December 14. The Jewish Federation will sponsor this event. Please mark it in your calendars and check for further updates, as we get closer to the date.

As the year begins, I would like to remind you that my door is always open, I have a nice comfortable sofa, and love to talk, schmooze, and just get to know each other a little better.

If I have offended anyone unintentionally this year, I ask your forgiveness. And I thank you all for a great 2007-2008!

Shana Tovah! Have a wonderfully sweet and happy New Year and I will see you in shul!

Hazzan Judy Sofer