[HANASHIR:1432] congregational choir/instruments

[T. Salisbury / L. Berkson <bravetoni...>]

I have been following the discussion on choirs, organs and other
instruments.  I have found through my involvement in very different
settings that when the hazzan and/or music director works with and
responds to the styles and interests of the congregation, a very
meaningful davening experience can be the result.  It's often
very tricky to achieve this.  Generally my experience tells me that there
is a place for --- and a need for --- a range of musical styles
and expressions in the synagogue.  My feeling is that, ultimately, the
music in the service is a vehicle to help people attain a fulfilling
spiritual experience (including me --- I try to get away from the feeling
that I'm "working", again sometimes a challenge), and this is my main
consideration when I choose the pieces for any particular service.

This summer I became music director of a small Conservative
synagogue in Middletown, RI  (near Newport, for anyone familiar with the
area.)  The rabbi had hired me almost two years ago to songlead with my
guitar once a month on Friday nights for the "Family Service."  I was at
first surprised at his request for me to bring the guitar to a Conservative
shul, 
but he assured me he was serious.  I proceeded to lead the congregation in a
various
folk-style settings of parts of the liturgy, using some melodies which they
previously had sung unaccompanied, and introducing them to new ones.  Last
September (1997) they increased my time there to twice a month.  This year, 
it's three times a month, plus other musical responsibilities.
  
During my first eighteen months working for Temple Shalom, I was also
continuing my participation in the professional choir (an octet) at a large
Conservative synagogue in Providence.  The choir sang on the bima for High
Holy Days, and participated in a congregational Hanukkah party and a large
annual choral concert in the spring at the shul.  The youth choir and the
choral club (a
non-professional, volunteer group) also participated in the Hanukkah program
and the choral concert, and eventually sang in parts of the High Holy Day
services as well.  The youth choir sometimes joined the professionals on the
bima, or sang from a place just in front of (and below) the bima, and
the choral club, too large to fit there, was in the choir loft with the
organist.   In this service we sang, in large part, from the choir/organ
repertoire e.g. Lewandowski, Sulzer, Naumbourg, etc.  The hazzan also has
tried over the last ten years to encourage the congregation to sing along
with the choirs since they have heard these melodies for so long and know
them.   Occasionally they do, but they are still listening more than
participating, at least in the "bigger" choral pieces.

Because this is such a large congregation (1,000+ "families"), there
are three services happening concurrently on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. 
Those who love the choir and organ come to the Main Sanctuary service. 
Those who like to daven WITHOUT the choir and organ are in another large
room with the other rabbi and a second cantor who is hired to come for High
Holy Days.  And those who prefer yet another alternative attend the third
service which is primarily led by members of the congregation.  All three
services are well attended, and there are adamant opinions on all sides
regarding the love or hatred of the organ/choir.  In a sense, there is
something for everyone --- a situation which is probably made more possible
by the size of the congregation.  The organ is almost never used except for
High Holy Days.

Having come from that setting to Temple Shalom, and having grown up in the
Reform movement while affiliating with Conservative during the last ten
years, I have found that I have been synthesizing what I love best about the
music I have sung in both places.  This year, when Temple Shalom (which has
no cantor except on High Holy Days) hired me as music director, they also
increased my responsiblities by having me be part cantorial soloist, part
songleader.  I was also asked to start an adult choir.  We began in the
summer, and
while the rehearsal schedule (and attendance) were something of a nightmare
at first, we eventually had seven dedicated women, none of them professional
singers and several of whom don't read music, who chose to come and learn
five folk-style pieces and one 3-part choral piece which they were to sing
during the
"creative/alternative" service on the second day of Rosh Hashana.  They
became so enthusiastic about their singing and the rabbi was so pleased with
how they sounded that he involved them in the service on the first day of
Rosh Hashana and on Yom Kippur as well.  It was a real challenge for them to
learn some of the pieces, but they clearly knew they had made a contribution
to the service because of how they, themselves, felt, and because of the
very positive response which we all have heard from
members of the congregation.  They were especially amazed when they sang
Debbie Friedman's"MiShebeirach" and people throughout the congregation wept.
This
is onesong which I have also been singing regularly on Friday nights, and
now that
the congregation knows it, they sing along earnestly and beautifully.

My goal for the choir has been, and continues to be, that they are a group
which helps to lead the congregation in singing.  They proved they could do
this by the participation which we heard throughout the sanctuary, and
particularly when I chose not to use any instrument on Yom Kippur.  The a
cappella versions of the same songs they had done with guitar gave the Yom
Kippur service a special tone.  (By the way, this congregation owns a small
organ, but everyone hates it and it is never used.  Apparently it was used
years ago, but the newer generation of members has vetoed its use.)
  
The choir sat in the front row (the bima is only three steps off the floor
in
our sanctuary) and they wore any combination of black and white
(generally black skirts and white or cream blouses, with a jacket or vest if
they chose --- this place is more casual than most shuls I've been to...). 
I told them I wanted a "unified look", not a uniform.
  
I'm now in the process of making specific plans for the next occasion when
the choir will formally sing together.  In the meantime, members of the
congregation have astutely observed that the choir members have sat
together voluntarily in the congregation on Friday nights, and on Sukkot,
and are
continuing to lead everyone in song.  They are practically begging me
for the plans of what's next. I may have some other members interested in
joining (including some men, which I'd like).  I am contemplating the
beginning of a children's choir.  I couldn't have asked for a
more meaningful and successful beginning. 

Laura Berkson 
41 Potter Lane
Kingston, RI  02881
Tel.# - Laura (401) 782-8625

Music Director, Temple Shalom
Music Teacher, Alperin Schechter Day School
Artist in Residence, Hasbro Children's Hospital