SSMAA NEWS - A GLIMPSE AT OUR WORK...

...for SSM alumni

1. We host ShirFun social events.
2. We present webinars.
3. We plan the alumni breakfast at the ACC convention.
4. We recommend Honorary Doctorate candidates to the HUC-JIR Committee on Honors.
5. We support your use of the Jewish Studies Portal.
6. We help publicize HUC’s continuing education opportunities available to you.
7. As part of the Council of Alumni Associations, we helped to implement the creation of a hard copy Alumni Directory.

...for SSM students

1. We sponsor a lunch for graduating seniors.
2. We host an event for 2nd, 3rd and 4th year students.
3. Together with the Rabbinical Alumni Association and the NY School of Education Alumni Association, we co-host a cocktail party during orientation week for all incoming second year HUC students.
4. We have created a booklet filled with practical tips about New York for incoming 2nd year SSM students.
5. We assist SSM staff in developing a madrich program for students.
6. We buddy up NY students with Year-In-Israel students via skype and email.
7. We give the Year-in-Israel students the Ish Matzliach Tikkun.

...for the SSM and HUC-JIR

1. We work closely with HUC’s admissions/recruitment staff, assisting in events like HUC On the Road, and in buddying up alumni with prospective SSM students.
2. We make presentations at Hava Nashira, the Jewish Choral Festival and other venues.
3. We recommend alumni to be recruitment ambassadors for the SSM and HUC-JIR.
4. We are creating a recruitment resource guide for our ambassadors.

Finally, we have launched Invest-in-a-Student, a campaign to raise money for SSM scholarships, which has thus far raised over $45,000.

SAW YOU AT THE ALUMNI BREAKFAST
By Jennifer Bern-Vogel (with Marla Goldberg)

Have you been to any of your class reunions lately? Unless you attended a largely Jewish school like Brandeis, you’ll probably find, as have I, that most reunions are scheduled around Homecoming, right in the middle of the High Holy Days in September.  So at ACC conventions, a serving of an SSM Alumni Association breakfast ‘reunion’ can help get you in the spirit of serving our Alma Mater (or ‘Eema’)!

This past year’s breakfast consisted of a buffet of mini vegetable knishes, fruit and pastries, including beignets (hey, it was Memphis – something’s gotta be fried…) providing post-daveners sustenance to celebrate some of our devoted and hard-working colleagues. SSMAA Leadership included incoming Chair Lee Coopersmith and outgoing Chair, Claire Franco.  Claire welcomed the attendees and began by honoring this year’s Honorary Doctorate recipients, the Class of 1985. (I’m sure the rest of us were praying that we can hang in there until we receive ours!) Claire also welcomed the recently invested Cantors as we applauded the Class of 2010.  Mazel tov to the classes of 1985 and 2010!

In other business, Claire encouraged everyone to fill out an Invest-in-a-Student pledge form.  $23,000 toward SSM student scholarships was pledged that morning!  David Berger reported that the Recruitment Working Group is coordinating with the HUC staff in recruitment of students. SSM Director, Bruce Ruben, spoke to us about developments at the SSM and his hopes for the future. Kerith Spencer-Shapiro led a ceremony of appreciation for Claire for her great leadership.  Following Claire’s response, she introduced incoming Chair, Lee Coopersmith.

The highpoint of the breakfast meeting was the ceremony honoring Benjie-Ellen-Schiller.  After a warm introduction by Adelle Nicholson, Tanya Greenblatt sang One Generation accompanied by Dr. Alan Mason, and then all in attendance sang Benjie’s Hal’luhu. The tribute continued with special memories and anecdotes offered by various people throughout the room. Rosalie Boxt offered a particularly heartfelt and serious tribute to her mentor.  A lovely piece of artwork was presented to Benjie by Marla Goldberg on behalf of the SSMAA.  Benjie was visibly overcome with gratitude and emotion.

The breakfast concluded on an exuberant note, as Lee invited the latest investees to stand and lead the Birkat Hamazon.

HUC at HAVA NASHIRA
By Jennifer Strauss-Klein

Photo of HUC alumni, faculty, and students who participated in May 2010 Hava Nashira - Fourth Row: Cantor Jeff Klepper, Student Rabbi Yoni Regev, Rabbi Ken Chasen, Cantor Leon Sher, Rabbi Larry Milder, Rabbi Noam Katz, Cantor Ross Wolman, Cantor Arik Luck, Jay Rappaport (NYSOE).  Third Row: Cantor David Goldstein, Cantor Sarah Sager, Rabbi Audrey Pollack, Cantor Rosalie Boxt, Cantor Tracey Scher, Merri Arian-faculty, Debbie Friedman, z”l-faculty, Cantor Zoe Jacobs, Cantor Rollin Simmons, Cantor Billy Tiep.  Second Row: Cantor Aviva Katzman, Cantor Diane Yomtov, Cantor Ellen Dreskin, Cantor Jennifer Frost.  First Row: Rabbi Helayne Shalhevet, Rabbi Jaime Shalhevet, Cantor Jennifer Strauss-Klein, Student Rabbi Lara Pullan Regev, Student Rabbi Andrew Terkel, Cantor Lisa Arbisser

Chevre,

Last June I had the wonderful opportunity to attend Hava Nashira, the URJ’s annual songleading and music workshop at OSRUI in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.  I had heard about Hava Nashira for years, from various colleagues, cantorial and non-cantorial alike.  Now, having gone myself, I can’t recommend this program highly enough.  I found it to be the single most rewarding conference or workshop I’ve ever attended. 

Professionally speaking, there are numerous options for intensives and electives.  We had the opportunity to learn from and with some of the best people in the business.  Josh Nelson, Craig Taubman, Debbie Friedman z”l, Shira Kline, Dan Nichols, and the URJ camp songleaders were among the service leaders and faculty, so we encounter a plethora of new musical settings of prayers and the most up-to-date repertoire in the Reform Movement.   These opportunities alone would have made it worthwhile—what I didn’t expect was the personal spirituality boost!  The boundless enthusiasm of all the participants is contagious, and the services are some of the most spiritually uplifting and effective I’ve experienced.  And you need not be a "proficient" guitarist - I am not, and I never once felt as though I had lost out as a result.

Let me say a word about representation and recruitment.  The topic of the role of cantorial soloists and camp songleaders in Jewish musical life is a touchy one for many cantors.  Regardless of how you feel about the subject, Hava Nashira provides an opportunity for cantors to share our gifts and our knowledge with those who in large part are setting the tone of contemporary popular Jewish music.  The fact that I was there as a cantor and could advocate for HUC and the cantorate was very significant.  Everyone I encountered—literally without exception—was thrilled to see cantors represented in larger numbers than ever before.   I also had the opportunity to speak formally and informally with a number of talented soloists and songleaders about my experiences as a cantorial student at HUC and a recently invested cantor.  After our conversations, many learned more about the cantorate as a potential career path or realized that they could or did meet the criteria for applying to cantorial school.

For these reasons, I can’t emphasize how important it is that we as cantors are attending workshops like these.  Pariticipating in Hava Nashira is the ideal opportunity to demonstrate that we in the cantorate are relevant to Jewish musical life today, and that we can—and should—have a greater influence on the direction of Jewish music beyond our own pulpits. 

I strongly encourage you all to go to the Hava Nashira website and check it out for yourselves.  The address is:

http://osrui.urjcamps.org/yearround/programs/havanashira/

The program fills up quickly, so be sure to sign up as soon as registration opens in March 2011. 

HUC ON THE ROAD...

CHICAGO - by Ross Wolman

HUC on the Road: Chicago was a great success. The day was filled with programs and a few opportunities for informal schmoozing. The morning featured a lesson for area educators taught by Dr. Michael Zeldin. In the afternoon session Dr. Sam Joseph taught about effective leadership to alumni and possible future students. 

The program was exciting and dynamic. Conversations were upbeat and positive. I had the opportunity to have had lunch with two potential SSM students. They asked many questions and were grateful for the opportunity for some one-on-one time with a recent graduate. 

These programs will continue to draw in candidates from our urban centers. I look forward to participating in more HUC on the Road events in Chicago in the coming years.

MIAMI - by Adelle Nicholson

Drs. Michael Marmur and Bruce Ruben were featured at HUC on the Road Miami, hosted by Cantor Rachelle Nelson and Temple Beth Am.  Rabbinic, Para-Rabbinic, Cantorial, Communal Service and Education alumni were represented.

In the morning, we studied a Babylonian Talmud teaching about the Alef-Beit with Dr. Marmur, and learned about the news of the College-Institute.  Dr. Marmur stressed that alumni are HUC’s best recruiters - we know the programs and what it takes to succeed at HUC and in our respective professions.  He has asked us to think about potential recruits, and to represent HUC to our congregations, at conferences and on the web.  There is also an alumni/applicant mentor program - if you are interested in mentoring an applicant through the application process, please contact Bruce Ruben.

In the afternoon, Dr. Marmur met with some young Jewish professionals associated with the Federation who work with teens in congregations and for the Board of Education.  He did a text study with them and explored some of the issues they face in their work.  Some of them are prospective HUC candidates.

Dr. Ruben taught another group, including SSM alumni, about the evolution of the cantorate from colonial times to the present, emphasizing the influence of Solomon Sulzer in American Reform Judaism and the establishment and history of the SSM.  He concluded his session with a description of the new SSM curriculum.

COCKTAIL PARTY FOR 2ND YEAR STUDENTS
By Joanna Alexander

Last August, the SSMAA, Rabbinic Alumni Association and NY School of Education Alumni Association planned a joint event to welcome students returning from Israel, and entering the NY school.  We held a cocktail hour after orientation to give the students a chance to relax and socialize with their fellow alumni across the schools, as well as get to know us - Cantor Joanna Alexander, Rabbi Marcus Burstein and Educator Harriet Levine.  HUC-JIR NY staff were also in attendance, including Rabbi Renni Altman, Cantor Bruce Ruben and Dr. Lisa Grant.  We all got a chance to welcome the students to NY, and to their future colleagues and alumni associations, as we schmoozed and ate together.

After a long day of administrative orientation, with the High Holidays only a couple of weeks away, this event was a wonderful way for the students to decompress and feel welcomed, ask questions of those of us in the field and just hang out.   The event was a total success!  The three alumni associations will collaborate in planning this cocktail party every August for the incoming class.  We hope that we will perpetuate a tradition that will continue to make the new students on the block feel welcomed to NY and the NY campus. 

SOON-TO-BE SSM ALUMNI
MEET THE CLASS OF 2011!

JOSHUA BREITZER

I grew up in mid-Michigan at East Lansing's Congregation Shaarey Zedek and came of musical age in the Michigan State University Children's Choir, Interlochen Arts Camp, and the University of Michigan Men's Glee Club. Upon getting voice degrees from U-M and the New England Conservatory, I flew to Jerusalem in 2006 with my muse/fiancée Donna, a mezzo-soprano, to begin cantorial studies at HUC-JIR.  We got married when we returned to the US and have since lived in Astoria, NY.  I am honored to be a member of the HUC-JIR Worship Working Group and the URJ Joint Commission on Worship, Music and Religious Living, and, after many wonderful years of schooling, I'm very excited to enter the professional cantorate and become a member of the ACC!

MELANIE COOPERMAN

I grew up in Minneapolis and went to the University of Minnesota for vocal performance. After college I worked in video/meeting production, apartment management and taught voice lessons while getting a master’s degree from the U of MN. I’ve lived in Brooklyn (and loved it!) for the past four years while attending HUC and trying to find time to experience life in NY as much as possible. I’ve enjoyed my experiences at my student pulpits in Plainview, East Hampton and Lawrence on Long Island, Pesach in Puerto Rico for three years and my current position at Rodeph Sholom where I’ve been for two years. I have a passion for all kinds of music, theater (my boyfriend Allan is a playwright), and the great outdoors.

DAVID FROMMER

My journey to the cantorate was shaped by defining musical experiences as a child growing up at Congregation B'nai Jeshurun in Manhattan, and as a college student at Yale University, singing in the Jewish a capella group, Magevet.  Touring with Magevet, I saw how Jews everywhere connect deeply to their musical heritage.  After graduating with a B.A. in History, I volunteered for the IDF as a combat soldier for fifteen months, and then applied to HUC, where I met my wife, Carla Fenves.  I am hoping to become the first cantor to serve as a US Army Chaplain, and to deploy to Afghanistan in 2012.  I enjoy rooting for the NY Yankees and the Kentucky Wildcats, reading histories and biographies, traveling and hiking, and listening to Jewish music.

JAMIE MARX

I am the proud father of four month old Eliana, who graciously sits on my lap while I practice my nusach. An aspiring composer, I created the HUC Composer's Showcase, a concert featuring original works by HUC faculty and students, now in its third year. While serving as the SSM Student President this past year, I worked with the other presidents to draft the Student Association’s first constitution, including a mission statement and SA elections reform. I am honored to have been student cantor at Temple Beth El of Jersey City, NJ, for the past four years, and am excited to discover what awaits me after investiture. When I need a break from thesis work, I enjoy reading and discovering new TV series on Netflix.

MARY REBECCA THOMAS

I am a native of Bayonne, NJ and have wanted to be a cantor ever since I became a Bat Mitzvah. I studied History and Jewish Studies at Rutgers University and had the great privilege of working for and studying with Cantor Andrew Bernard for three years before entering HUC. While at HUC, I served Union Temple of Brooklyn and Temple Israel of New Rochelle as chazzan sheini to Cantor Erik Contzius. My cantorial education has allowed me to develop my particular passions for composition, modern and postmodern Jewish thought and creating innovative and meaningful worship. My husband, Matthew Moore, and I are the very proud new parents to Johannah Ateret Thomas-Moore, born on November 12, 2010.

CHERYL WUNCH

Born and raised in Toronto, I grew up at Temple Har Zion in Thornhill, Ontario, where I eventually became a religious school teacher and youth advisor.  I received my Bachelor’s degree from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, during which time I was both teacher and Assistant Principal at Iyr Hamelech congregation.  I received my Associate’s degree in Child and Youth Work from Humber College in Toronto and spent several years working in group homes and counseling facilities.  I discovered my love for Jewish music at the Goldman Union Camp Institute in Indiana, and continued as staff and head songleader at the B’nai B’rith Perlman Camp in PA and the URJ Kutz camp.  I am passionate about interfaith dialogue, youth work and outreach, and am very excited to begin my career as a cantor.

GREETINGS FROM SSMAA CHAIR LEE COOPERSMITH

Dear Fellow Alumni:  

I am delighted to be writing my first letter of greetings to you as the Chair of the School of Sacred Music Alumni Association.   It is an honor and pleasure to serve you, the School of Sacred Music and the College-Institute. 

My involvement with the SSMAA began shortly after I graduated from the school in 1982, when the Cantorial Alumni Association, as it was called then, was a much smaller group.  After many years I reconnected with our organization when I was asked to be a member of the Honorary Doctorate Advisory Working Group.  It was a privilege to serve in this capacity, collaborating with fellow alumni whom I knew well, as well as with more recent graduates whom I met in the working group.

One of my goals as Chair is to increase the personal involvement of our membership in the ongoing work of the SSMAA. In this e-newsletter you will see all of the wonderful projects that benefit alumni, the College-Institute and the students. 

I am extending a personal invitation to you to become an active, involved member of the SSMAA not just a “dues paying” member.  Of course we are thankful for your continued financial support but your personal involvement in our organization is just as important.  We have a number of working groups that would welcome your participation.

Two years ago I returned to HUC-JIR as a student in the D. Min. program.  It had been a long time since I returned to the New York campus as a student.  When I entered the building every week for classes I realized how grateful I was to the school for providing me an opportunity for life-long learning.

Please send an email to our coordinator, Adelle Nicholson, at anicholson@huc.edu or me at doubledoc2@verizon.net that you are “on board” and we will get back to you promptly.   It is a great way to serve the alumni and to support the college that trained us so well for our sacred work.

Sent with blessings,  Lee 

GREETINGS FROM SSM DIRECTOR BRUCE RUBEN

Greetings to you all.  It was an eventful fall at the SSM.  Our new class of six (three men and three women) benefitted from an orientation week which included intensive High Holy Day repertoire with Faith Steinsnyder and Vocal Master classes with successful teachers from the New York area.  We all travelled to Iroquois Springs, a lovely camp in the Catskills, for our kallah in the fourth week of August.  Shortly after we were all off for a month of High Holy Days and festivals.  It is a tough schedule if you are hoping for curricular continuity, but the way the Holy Days fell this year made anything else impossible. 

We managed to establish a routine in October as we continued to implement our new Core Curriculum.  The third year students are taking the integrated High Holy Day liturgical track, which combines traditional Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  At the same time they are studying High Holy Day Reform while they are also studying High Holy Day liturgy and modes.  This is a huge undertaking.  The practicum for that year is an extended High Holy Day assignment. 

As part of the new Core Curriculum we have revamped the practicum format.  Students speak at the beginning to establish the theme of the presentation.  Later, at the lunch each week a different faculty member teaches for five minutes to introduce the discussion and provide a deeper perspective on the topic.  Also new is the requirement that students review the DVD with their coaches and then write a reflective piece on what they have learned from the experience.  So far, the response to this new approach has been positive.

Also new this year is a class piano course, taught by Shinae Kim.  It will soon be a requirement for all students.  We have also had a master class featuring the music of Cantor Charles Davidson.  This prolific composer and teacher joined us to discuss his music, which was performed by the SSM Choir.  This program was made possible through the Cantor Harold Orbach Fund.  We also had our first recital, a wonderful birthday concert featuring the music of Jack Gottlieb on the occasion of his eightieth birthday.  Josh Breitzer performed solo pieces and spoke about Jack’s life and career, and the choir sang.  Jack was clearly very moved by the morning.  We also had a touching memorial concert in memory of Cantor Ed Fogel in late November.  Many of his friends sang and remembered this wonderful cantor. 

Finally, I want to remind you to see the SSM as a resource for you.  Alumni can take any of our courses for a small fee.  For those who can’t commit to a full semester, we have intensives of up to one week, from time to time.  For those of you too far away to take advantage of classes on campus, we are working hard to finally get the practica on the HUC website in a way that alumni will have access.  Please stay tuned.

Best wishes to you all.  Bruce Ruben

INVEST-IN-A-STUDENT CAMPAIGN
By Claire Franco

As many of you have already heard, the SSMAA is involved in a new Invest-In-a-Student campaign. The goal of our campaign is simple:  to join together to provide scholarships for cantorial students.  Our hope is to have each and every alum of the SSM participate.  We launched this important campaign at our annual alumni breakfast at the ACC convention in Memphis this past summer.  We are really pleased to announce that at that breakfast alone, we raised $23,000.  But we still have a long way to go.  No matter how large or small your gift, please know that it is a vital and integral part of this effort.   This campaign is dependent on volunteers to serve as decade and class captains who will personally solicit gifts from fellow alumni.  So if you are willing to lead a team, please contact Dana Anesi at danesi@bethelnw.org .  My hope is that, when you are contacted, you will want to be a part of this important project.

ENRICH YOUR OWN PERSONAL STUDY AND YOUR PROFESSIONAL GROWTH - EXPLORE THE RICHES OF THE JEWISH STUDIES PORTAL

Fellow alumni, HUC-JIR has extended an invitation to all alumni in good standing to access the newly launched Jewish Studies Portal (JSP), which provides the best resources available in the Jewish Studies world.  A large collection of online Jewish resources awaits us – 24 hours a day, anywhere in the world, including many of the essential sources that Jewish professionals and teachers of Judaism need for research and teaching in searchable and downloadable formats. 

The JSP includes a full library of ancient, medieval and modern Jewish sources, such as the Bar Ilan Responsa, Bibleworks, Judaic Classics, the Encyclopaedia Judaica (1974 and 2007 editions),  DavkaWriter, Word with Hebrew and English, the Dead Sea Scrolls Library, the HUC-JIR Libraries, the American Jewish Archives and electronic journals and articles.

All members in good standing of the SSM Alumni Association have received a username and password to gain electronic access to the vast online libraries of the portal.  If you have lost this information, please contact me for assistance.
 
To find out more about the JSP, please go to:
http://elearning2.huc.edu/continuinged/forAlumni/alumniMain.php?content=alumniHome.htm

Access the JSP at:
https://jsp.huc.edu/Citrix/XenApp/auth/login.aspx

Enjoy these new resources - we hope that they will add to your lifelong journey of Jewish learning and teaching!

Adelle Nicholson, SSMAA Coordinator

THE SSMAA LEADERSHIP COUNCIL

Executive:
Lee Coopersmith, Chair and Council of Alumni Associations Representative
Wendy Shermet, Vice Chair
Claire Franco, Immediate Past Chair and Invest-In-a-Student Co-Chair

Leadership Team:
Dana Anesi, Council of Alumni Associations Immediate Past Chair and Invest-in-a-Student Co-Chair
Joanna Alexander, Invest-in-a-Student Co-Chair
Elizabeth Sacks, Council of Alumni Associations Representative
Fredda Mendelson, Secretary

Programming Working Group:
Jacqueline Shuchat-Marx, Co-Chair
Gabi Arad, Co-Chair
Sandy Sherry Pilatsky
Jon Haddon
Katie Oringel
Marla Goldberg

Recruitment Working Group:                                               
Ross Wolman, Co-Chair
David Reinwald, Co-Chair
David Berger

Outreach to Students Working Group:
Joanna Alexander, Co-Chair
Elizabeth Sacks, Co-Chair        
Fredda Mendelson
Sarah Zemel
Mia Davidson
Shayna Peavey

Alumni Day of Learning Working Group:
Betsey Peters-Epstein, Co-Chair
Sheri Blum, Co-Chair
Lee Coopersmith
Ellen Sussman
Wendy Autenrieth
Ellen Stettner

Honorary Doctorate Advisory Working Group:           
Vicki Axe, Chair
Mark Elson
Michael Shochet

HUC-JIR Staff:
Bruce Ruben, SSM Director - Leadership Team and Recruitment Working Group
Benjie-Ellen Schiller, SSM Faculty - Honorary Doctorate Advisory Working Group
Deborah Abelson, National Director of Admissions and Recruitment - Recruitment Working Group
Joy Wasserman, National Director of Alumni Affairs
Adelle Nicholson, Coordinator

YOU ARE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SSMAA

Our working groups welcome your involvement.  There are many projects that we can do if we have your help, for example - we can enhance the SSM music library, we can organize more ShirFun events, we can increase our continuing education options, and the list goes on.  Please consider serving the SSM Alumni Association.  If you are interested, please contact coordinator Adelle Nicholson at 954-456-4312 or anicholson@huc.edu.  Here are some of the areas of our work:

The Programming Working Group takes on projects to benefit the alumni.  The PWG plans the alumni breakfast at the ACC convention, arranges opportunities for continuing alumni education and organizes ShirFun social events in our various regional areas.  

The Recruitment Working Group works very closely with the College-Institute.  Admissions and Recruitment staff and the SSM Director attend our meetings.  We brainstorm ideas and support the SSM and the College-Institute in recruitment efforts.  We have recommended alumni as recruitment ambassadors and are creating an online manual to assist them in their work.  We make presentations at Hava Nashira and other Jewish musical and Reform venues. 

The Outreach to Students Working Group serves the SSM and its students.  This group reaches out to students in many different ways:  events, letters, gifts, and other worthy projects that benefit the students and connect them to the Alumni Association.

The Alumni Day of Learning Working Group plans the Alumni Day of Learning which is scheduled for November 2011.  Stay tuned for more details! 

The Honorary Doctorate Working Group works with HUC-JIR staff to recommend alumni approaching their 25th year in the cantorate to the College-Institute’s Committee on Honors.

The Nominations Working Group meets once every two years to make recommendations to the Executive for the positions of Chair and Vice-Chair.

FROM THE HUC-JIR NEWS

On October 29, 2010, at the Jerusalem campus of HUC-JIR, at its Ordination and Academic Convocation, our esteemed teacher, Cantor Doctor Professor Eliyahu Schleifer, Director of Cantorial Studies and Associate Professor of Sacred Music at HUC-JIR in Jerusalem from 1987-2010, received a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.

Eliyahu Schleifer was born in Jerusalem in 1939. As child he studied in cheider and at the y’shivah Etz Chaim in Machaneh Yehudah. Then he went to Tachkemony school and the Hebrew University High School. He began his musical career as a m’shorer (choirboy) and Junior Cantor at the Shirat Yisrael Institute, where he studied Chazzanut with the master of cantorial art, Cantor Zalman Rivlin. Concurrently, he studied violin and French horn at the Jerusalem New Conservatory of Music. He then served as a musician in the Israeli Army Band and Symphony Orchestra.

After his discharge from the army he continued his musical studies at the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem and studied Jewish philosophy and Kabbalah at the Hebrew University. During the years 1964-67 he served as assistant to the ethnomusicologist, Dr. Edith Gerson-Kiwi, researching the music of the Jewish communities of Israel. He then studied at the University of Chicago where he received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in musicology. During his studies, he served as Cantor at the Conservative synagogue South Side Hebrew Congregation in Chicago.

In 1976 he returned to Israel and served as lecturer at the Rubin Academy of Music, Jerusalem and senior lecturer in the Department of Musicology at Tel Aviv University. In his public capacity as musicologist he served a number of times as judge in the Israel Prime Minister's Prize for Composition and was Chairman of the Israeli Musicological Society. In 1981 he began his service as Cantor at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, Jerusalem, sharing the pulpit with Rabbi Shaul Feinberg.

From 1985 he served as teacher at HUC and two years later he was appointed Associate Professor of Sacred Music and Director of Cantorial Studies there. During his service as cantor and teacher, he wrote various liturgical compositions.  In 2010 he retired and he now continues his research projects on Ashkenazi synagogue-music.

Dr. Prof. Eliyahu Schleifer is married to the pianist Aya Schleifer and they have two sons, Doron and Uri, who are also musicians.

Find out more about this event at:  http://huc.edu/external/newsletter/10/10/29/

Mazl tov to you, Eli!

PLEASE UPDATE YOUR CONTACT INFO ON THE ALUMNI DIRECTORY

Looking for an old friend or lost classmate? You can find any HUC alum in the online directory. Simply go to   www.huc.edu/alumni/private/.  Since the directory is password protected, please contact Adelle Nicholson at anicholson@huc.edu  for the username and password.  

Have you moved, changed jobs, married, or had children?   Please check your contact data, to make sure that it is current and up to date.