Shabbat Shira 2017 faculty
Merri Lovinger Arian serves on the faculty of the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music at the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. She teaches both cantorial and rabbinic students, offering courses in Music Education, Conducting, Congregational Singing, Worship, and Contemporary Congregational Repertoire. Merri previously served as Director of Music for Synagogue 2000 (S2K), a leading trans- denominational institute developing models for revitalizing synagogue life, and has more recently served as Synagogue 3000's consultant on liturgical arts at HUC-JIR in New York. In that role, Merri supervises rabbinic and cantorial students in creating worship collaboratively at the College-Institute. She holds an MA in Teaching, a BFA in Music Education, and a Certificate in Music Therapy. Merri edited R'fuah Sh'leimah: Songs of Healing. Her recordings include Nefesh: Songs for the Soul, a CD for S2K, and NFTY in Harmony, an album with an accompanying songbook of original choral arrangements. She has written on "Music, Prayer and Sacred Community," and on the educational value of youth choirs. She has coordinated the faculty for Shabbat Shira since 2010, and coordinated the faculty for Hava Nashira prior to that.
Cantor Rosalie Boxt recently served as Cantor of Temple Emanuel in Kensington, Maryland, just north of Washington DC. She was invested Cantor from the School of Sacred Music of the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in New York in 2001. She was the URJ Worship Advisor and Director of Worship for the 2015 URJ Biennial. A long-time NFTY, Goldman Union Camp, and Kutz Camp Songleader, she co-edited the Shireinu Chordster, published Fall 2000. Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, she attended the University of Pennsylvania as a Jewish Studies Major, Theatre Minor.
Rosalie is a past Vice-President of Member Relations and External Partnerships of the ACC (American Conference of Cantors). Through PresenTense, an incubator for young Jewish social entrepreneurs, and ConnectGens of the DC-JCC, she launched a non-profit business Kesher Shir: a venture which brings together diverse Jewish musicians to study and collaborate to create meaningful music which will enrich and enliven worship and strengthen communities.
She was a Synagogue 2000 Fellow and is a member of the Synagogue 3000 Leadership Network. Rosalie is also a Partner in the Kalsman Institute on Judaism and Health. She is a member of the Vision Team for the URJ Campaign for Youth Engagement, and has been on the faculty of Hava Nashira for 12 years, including coordinating the Hava Nashira faculty and program from 2012-2016. She is married to Jason, whom she met at URJ Kutz Camp and mother of two URJ Camp Harlam campers, Tahlia and Arielle.
Rabbi Ken Chasen is the Senior Rabbi of Leo Baeck Temple in Los Angeles, California. Before entering the rabbinate, Ken enjoyed a successful career in television film and music composition in Los Angeles, editing and composing musical scores on numerous film and network television projects.
Ken composes, records and performs original Jewish music as a member of the popular group, Mah Tovu. Mah Tovu has released three CDs and two books – “Days of Wonder, Nights of Peace” and “Day of Days” – which guide Jewish families in the creation of meaningful Jewish rituals in the home. Ken’s melodies are sung in synagogues, schools and summer camps throughout North America, Europe and Israel. In addition, he is an accomplished author whose writings have appeared in a wide variety of national and international publications, including the Los Angeles Times, the Forward, Variety, Thrive Global and the Jewish Journal, among many others.
Ken has been a member of the Synagogue 3000 Leadership Network and the National Pilot Team of Kesher Shir. He currently teaches in the Rabbinical Program of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) and serves on its President’s Council. In addition, he sits on the national executive committee of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, is an appointee to the Interfaith Leadership Team of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, and is a Senior Rabbinic Fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem.
There is a reason why Time.com recently listed Michelle Citrin in their Top Ten list of Jewish rock stars and the Jerusalem Post calls Michelle “The Jewish IT girl”.
Michelle is an award-winning Brooklyn based singer/songwriter and producer best known as a pioneer of celebrating Jewish culture on YouTube with viral videos including, “20 Things to do with Matzah”, “Rosh Hashanah Girl” and “Hanukkah Lovin”. In total, these videos have received millions of hits from around the world and has led to the press referring to Michelle as, “A YouTube Sensation”.Inspired by Rav Kook’s ,“What is old make new, what is new make holy,” Michelle sets out to find connection points to our tradition’s wisdom and culture in an easily accessible way. Currently, Michelle is traveling the world with her Artist in Residence program, “Eat. Pray. Sing”- a spiritually uplifting and soul nourishing Shabbat experience that weaves together the three tribal components that have united us for thousands of years - food, prayer, and song.
Michelle delivers insightful lyrics with her soulful voice and brings an angelic quality to worship services while offering a unique opportunity to engage with liturgical texts in a thoughtful and holistic manner.
Whether playing in front of a sold-out crowd of thousands on the beach of Tel Aviv at a Birthright Mega Event, or an intimate set at a coffeehouse in Melbourne, Australia, Michelle’s engaging live performances and talent for writing catchy and meaningful songs have garnered rave reviews and numerous accolades including being named one of The Jewish Week's, “36 Under 36 Next Wave of Jewish Innovators", Billboard Music’s “Top Songwriters”, VH-1 Song of the Year finalist and recipient of a Great American Songwriting Honor.
Michelle’s music is celebrated in synagogues, camps and is featured in TV, Film, and Radio. Recent performances include the 60 for 60 Israel Celebration at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles, CA, URJ Biennial, Limmud UK, LA, NYC, PBS Chanukah special, "Lights," as well as the 100th Anniversary of Tel Aviv‘s Birthright Mega Event as well as appearing with likes of Gold selling artist, Matisyahu, Michelle Branch, Achinoam Nini, David Broza, Rami Kleinstein, and Idan Raichel.
Dan Nichols has become one of the most beloved and influential Jewish contemporary musicians in North America. He performs over 200 events per year across North America to audiences from 20 to 5,000 people. He is a product of Jewish summer camp, having grown up at the URJ Goldman Union Camp Institute in Zionsville, IN. Dan has the unique ability to connect with Jewish youth in a meaningful and inspirational way. Through his energy, his enthusiasm and his music, Dan electrifies and enriches each Jewish community that he visits. Lay leaders and Jewish professionals around the country point to Dan’s music as an important and long-lasting influence in their lives.
Dan’s Jewish music has also become a vital part of the Reform Jewish world, with Jewish youth and clergy alike incorporating it into their study, worship, and communal celebrations. Songs like The Na Na Song, B’tzelem Elohim, Kehillah Kedoshah, Hoshia, and Sweet As Honey, are among the most popular songs in liberal Judaism today.
Be sure to look for Road To Eden, a full length documentary film directed by Doug Passon. Road to Eden documents the journey of Dan Nichols and his band E18hteen during his 2011 Southern Sukkot tour, crisscrossing 10 cities in the deep south in an RV. Along the way, Dan found unique Sukkot stories to tell -– some uplifting, others heart-breaking. Through soul-stirring song and story, this film shines a light on the Jewish tradition’s most profound teachings about the fragility of existence, our connection to the Earth, and our dream of a world perfected. Sukkot is not just another Jewish holiday. It’s our roadmap to the Promised Land.