As I look back (way back!), I am perhaps not alone in having been given the task while in elementary school, of writing an essay after summer break which began “What I did on my summer vacation”. As things begin to wind down and summer is upon us (except, that is, for our exciting Camp Pinebrook happenings which are about to begin) I thought I would share a bit about what I will be doing on part of my summer vacation.
For us Cantors (and Rabbis), just like for “regular” folk, summer is a time to recharge, restore, renew our energies and enjoy a kind of extended Shabbat. Summer is also an opportunity to connect with colleagues, friends, and professionals in our fields. It is a time for creativity, I have often thought - a time to learn, gain new skills, expand our knowledge and explore new horizons. These upcoming warm days of summer allow us time to slow down, spend more time in nature (getting in touch with our own nature), and begin to take stock of the year that’s passed, while setting new goals for the coming new year, which will be here before you know it.
So, after the Temple Gala (which I already sense will be a huge success and bring many smiles to many faces), and after our Brotherhood and Sisterhood Shabbat (which I know will inspire and demonstrate what is so special and precious about our community in the way of social connections and social justice), and after the annual congregational meeting, I will fly off to the west coast, to San Diego, to be exact, for the National American Conference of Cantors convention which brings several hundred Reform Cantors together from all 50 States once a year to worship, study Torah texts, learn new music, discover the latest developments in synagogue worship and music education for the youngest among us. On the first day of the conference, there will be a workshop presented by the Reform movement’s Transcontinental Music Publication which will share the music from the soon to be published High Holy Day Anthology, Volume 2. I am so very honored and proud that I will be singing my own composition “Hashiveinu/Turning” during this workshop, as this piece will be included in this new publication.
When I served Congregation Sherith Israel in San Francisco some years back, one of my most joyous and enlightening summertime experiences, was attending the North American Jewish Choral Festival in upstate New York. It was a bit of a shlep, I must admit, to get from the Golden State to the Catskills, but it was always well worth it. Gathering with some five hundred souls with every level of Jewish music knowledge and skill, I learned so much about Jewish choral music and got to work with the most knowledgeable and masterful Jewish conductors, musicians and Jewish musicologists. And, I got to do what I love so much - SING! We sang in various ensembles during the day and then sang well into the night often in the lobby of whatever hotel we were staying at with songs in Hebrew, Yiddish and Ladino. At the end of the conference there was always a big concert in which every ensemble performed. For those of us who love Jewish music and love to sing in four-part harmony, this is nothing less than heaven on earth.
So, getting back to “what I will be doing on some of my summer vacation”, lo and behold, this July (after I return from California) the North American Jewish Choral Festival will be gathering in person for the first time since the pandemic, practically next door - in Tarrytown!! I imagine this must be my reward for having made the trip three times from west to east coast (which included a three-hour bus trip from the Port Authority to Kerkehonson, NY), so I could attend this extraordinary Festival.
I look forward to sharing all that I learn at both of these Cantorial/Music conferences and hope to fill our beautiful sanctuary with the very best of Jewish liturgical music. Also, I hope to form an adult choir in the coming year, so the music I learn this summer should come in rather handy!
We will continue to sing the old songs that we know and love, and, God willing, starting this fall, we will also have a chance to sprinkle into our worship and spiritual moments together, beautiful, heartwarming, uplifting new songs to God.
Wishing you all a joyful, relaxing, and fruitful summer,
Cantor Rita Glassman
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