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Community BlogRabbis and Cantors Singing Together

Rabbis and cantors singing together — what a concept! That’s exactly what happens in Kol Arev, Hebrew College’s choir. This ensemble, the name of which means “pleasant voice,” is composed of cantorial students, rabbinical students, faculty and alumni of the college. Rabbi Daniel Lehmann, the college president, sings in Kol Arev, and yes, even he had to audition!

Our choir sings on behalf of the college in many venues. This spring semester, Kol Arev did seven gigs, including:

“I Have a Dream,” a multicultural event in concert with Andover Newton Theological Seminary, celebrating the life of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.;
Boston Theological Institute Choral Festival;
Two Klezmer Friday-evening services in prominent local synagogues.
Hebrew College’s 89th Commencement ceremony (pictured above)

Kol Arev performs in a wide range of Jewish musical styles, with instruments and a cappella, and it often features the compositions of rabbinical and cantorial students. A favorite example of cantorial and rabbinic collaboration is a rousing setting of “Shalom Aleikhem” by our new graduate, Rabbi Shoshana Friedman. Shoshana composed the melody, and Vera Broekhuysen, a cantorial student, arranged it artfully for the choir. Not only are rabbis and cantors singing together, they are composing music together!

Kol Arev will be holding auditions in the fall for the coming season. The group is lead by its founder, Cantor Lynn Torgove, MAJS’11, Can ’12,  and conducted by Amy Lieberman P’90. If you would like to be part of this superb and joyous choir, email bmayer@hebrewcollege.edu.

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