Started over 20 years, Cantor Brody describes the members of Temple Beth El’s choir as individuals of diverse background “who love to sing.”  Cantor Brody believes that “making music together, especially religious music, creates a special bond between choir participants and the entire congregation.”  The choir performs on the High Holidays as well as various other holiday and Shabbat services throughout the year.   Practices are usually scheduled a week or two before a performance and always on Monday evenings.  

A. Thank you for asking me about my experiences as a Beth El Choir member.

It will be fourteen years this 2012 High Holiday season that I have been singing with Cantor Brody and the Beth El Choir.  My singing experience goes back in time when I was just nine years old and began singing in  a religious choir as an alto soloist. I have always had the love for cantorial music and all kinds of of Hebrew and Israeli song. My memories of the past fourteen years, singing with the Beth El Choir, have been extremely meaningful. The memories of the singers I have been blessed to know and sing with will stay with me for the rest of my life. What an experience! Singing tenor with Ed Lefkowitz! Having Dr. Ben Saffan, baritone, and having  the very young Jenna, Alix and Alexis also singing with us. Alexis is now a Cantor in New York. Alix is now singing on Broadway and Jenna is in Cantorial College in New York. These young women return every so often to sing for us during services.  I remember Ilsa Mollen, a soprano who, if not for WWII, would have become a world renown opera singer.  Ilsa studied in Berlin before the war, a great voice, and will never be forgotten.  Thanks to Cantor Brody's leadership, what beautiful music we make.  It was Cantor Brody who nurtured those young women and brought out the lovely sound in all of them.  I also thank Cantor Brody, who arranged the music I brought back from Israel to be sung by the choir during temple services.

The choir sings four part music so the richness of the sound is always there. Anyone who has the desire to sing should come and join us. 

I once read that singing is the most powerful form of prayer. It is also said "There are places in heaven that are only open to the voice of song."  I'd say that's something to think about.

Thank you,
Gerald Singer