Hava Nashira 2018 faculty

Ellen Allard, multi-award winning Recording Artist, Composer, Performer, and Educator, is one of the most popular and influential musicians and educators on today’s vibrant Secular and Jewish music scene. With over 30 years experience performing and teaching music for families as well as adult audiences, Ellen charms audiences with her interactive, infectious, and entertaining music. She has released 14 recordings and 7 songbooks, has composed over 250 songs, and her music has been published by other singer-songwriters on 31 recordings and in 11 books.

Ellen draws on a rich tradition of musical experiences in presenting her lively and captivating performances, keynotes and workshops for family audiences and educational conferences across the United States, Canada and abroad. A former Elementary School Vocal Music teacher and Early Childhood classroom and music teacher, she is a classically trained pianist, having begun her formal piano studies at the age of five. She studied flute and piccolo through elementary and high school, and taught herself to play acoustic guitar while a student in college. She also dabbles with djembe, banjo, ukulele, autoharp, recorder, and spoons!

Ellen is a graduate of Boston University, with a Bachelor's degree in Music. She earned her Master's degree in Early Childhood Education from Arcadia University and is a Certified Holistic Health Coach trained at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in NYC. Ellen teaches Baby/Toddler Yoga, and Kidding Around Yoga and Yoga Yeladim for 3 - 12 year olds. She is blessed with 2 beautiful daughters, 2 sweet sons-in-law, and 5 delicious grandchildren! Ellen makes her home in Brookline, MA. In addition to spontaneously breaking out in song 150 times a day, Ellen loves dark chocolate, attempts to register 10K daily steps on her fitbit, and makes sure she experiences at least one hilariously belly laugh a day. Learn more about Ellen at www.ellenallard.com.

Merri Lovinger Arian is a full-time member of 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 Programs and then Director of Music for Synagogue 2000 (S2K), a leading trans-denominational institute developing models for revitalizing synagogue life. Merri also served as Synagogue 3000's consultant on liturgical arts at HUC-JIR in New York. Since that time, Merri has supervised 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. Merri has served as faculty coordinator for Shabbat Shira since its inception in 2010, and prior to that served as faculty coordinator for Hava Nashira from 2005 – 2011.

For over ten years, Noah Aronson has inspired thousands with his "creativity, musicality and his playful and soulful spirit." -- Cantor Markowitz, Am Shalom, Glencoe, Illinois.

After earning a degree in Jazz Composition and Piano from Berklee College of Music, he held the position of Composer-in-Residence at Temple Beth Elohim in Wellesley, MA where he produced 4 albums of Jewish communal music with his mentor Cantor Jodi Sufrin. As a solo musician, Noah has released three full-length albums and songbooks entitled 'Am I Awake,' 'Left Side of the Page,' and his latest 'More Love' including his 4 member all Israeli-Berklee alumni band. Music from these albums are now sung in progressive communities and summer camps worldwide and has been included as part of the Cantorial curriculum at the Hebrew Union College's Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music in New York City. Renowned for his unique and engaging style of prayer leadership, he had the distinct honor of leading over 5,000 people in Shabbat worship at the 2013 URJ Biennial in San Diego, CA.

Noah serves on the faculty of the annual Hava Nashira and Shabbat Shira workshops in Oconomowoc, WI and the Shirei Chaggiah workshop in London, England. In 2015, Noah partnered with Behrman House, the largest distributor of Jewish educational materials, to create an innovative, music-based curriculum entitled Hebrew in Harmony. His music has also been featured on two compilations from the PJ Library series.

Noah lives in New York City and is currently serving as the Creative Director of Sacred Music NY, a non-profit organization that organizes concerts and events around New York City bringing together spiritual musicians from diverse backgrounds to inspire interfaith dialogue and social change.

Cantor Rosalie Boxt is the Director of Worship and Music for the URJ and is the Biennial Worship Director. She also mentors cantors in the field and consults congregations and clergy on issues of worship and music. Rosalie served from 2001 until 2017 as Cantor of Temple Emanuel in Kensington, Maryland, just north of Washington DC immediately after being invested Cantor from the School of Sacred Music of the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in New York.

She is a Synagogue 3000 Fellow, is a Partner in the Kalsman Institute on Judaism and Health and is a past Vice-President for Member Relations of the American Conference of Cantors (ACC). Through PresenTense, an incubator for young Jewish social entrepreneurs and ConnectGens of the DC-JCC, she has launching a non-profit business called Kesher Shir: a venture which brings together Jewish musicians from diverse backgrounds to study, collaborate, and create meaningful music which will enrich and enliven worship and strengthen communities.

Her husband, Jason, is Executive Vice President of Penn Shoen and Berland (PS-B), providing public opinion research, message development and issue advocacy expertise. The two met at the URJ Kutz Camp and have two daughters, 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.

Alan Goodis is a touring Jewish musician playing over 150 events a year. Born and raised in Toronto, Alan is a proud product of URJ Goldman Union Camp Institute. Noted for his dedication to building relationships and community through music, Alan tours throughout the US to serve as an Artist-In-Residence and performer at Temples, Youth Conventions and Jewish summer camps.

In 2009, Alan’s self-titled debut album launched him onto the Jewish music scene with its powerful vocals and bold melodies. Alan is a strong presence in the Reform Jewish movement to engage and empower Jewish youth and adults through music. He’s served as Musical Director for NFTY International Convention and on faculty Hava Nashira. In 2011, he developed Nashir: an NFTY Teen Songleading Institute in partnership with the URJ to provide meaningful Songleader training to high school students. Alan has been a featured performer and presenter at URJ Biennials and the Wexner Foundation. In 2014, Alan released his long awaited full-length studio album “This Place.” In 2016, Alan co-founded "Friday Night: A Key Shabbat Celebration" with two Chicago congregations to engage underserved young professionals. Later that year he was named to Chicago's Jewish 36 under 36.

Alan lives in Chicago with his wife Codi. To learn more about Alan visit: www.alangoodis.com.

Cantor Jeff Klepper created Hava Nashira in 1992 along with Debbie Friedman z'l and Jerry Kaye. As a composer of more than 200 songs, including the widely-known "Shalom Rav" (written with Dan Freelander, his partner in the duo Kol B'seder,) Jeff has helped to shape a new and unique American Jewish musical style. He is a graduate of the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music and earned a Master's in Music from Northeastern Illinois University. He was music editor of Mishkan T'filah and has been honored by N.F.T.Y., The Coalition for Alternatives in Jewish Education (CAJE,) and the Zamir Chorale of Boston. He is an instructor of Jewish Music at Hebrew College in Newton, MA. He has been the Cantor of Temple Sinai in Sharon, MA since 2003, where he leads services, teaches music in the religious school and shares his love of Jewish music with the entire congregation.

Shira Kline is an internationally acclaimed, award winning performing artist recognized as a “revolutionary educator” and named one of the “new re-engineers of Jewish life.” A co- founder of both Storahtelling and Lab/Shul, she is the Director of Worship at Lab/Shul, NYC and works with young families as the Director of Family Education.

On the road, Shira works with a diverse array of Jewish communities to enliven rituals, holiday celebrations, and love for Jewish life and prayer. The product of a modern rabbi and a modern dancer, she blends words, story and music to create a rich experience for children and adults alike. Shira works with national organizations across the denominational spectrum facilitating professional development seminars on creative worship, ritual and music education for clergy, educators, seminary students and lay leaders. She is on the faculty of Hava Nashira as well as adjunct faculty for the HUC-JIR Debbie Friedman School for Sacred Music. Shira tours extensively performing for families, adults, and teens in the United States, stages in Israel, England, Italy, Australia and New Zealand. Her award winning Jewish kiddie rock albums along with her “Blog Sameach” are featured worldwide.

One of the most popular performers and composers in modern Jewish music, Josh Nelson is a gifted multi-instrumentalist and songwriter whose work is celebrated and integrated into the repertoire of congregations, camps and communities around the world. A classically trained musician who is equally versed in rock, jazz and world music, Josh combines his broad range of influences into a breathtaking musical style that is accessible to audiences of all ages and backgrounds. While he performs professionally on as many as thirteen different instruments (though not at the same time), he is most widely considered an extraordinary guitarist, pianist, and vocalist.

Recently hailed by Time Magazine as a “star of the New Jewish Music,” Josh is the music director for the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) Biennial Convention, faculty for Hava Nashira, and a musical artist in residence for the JCC Maccabi Artsfest. He also serves as a member of the URJ Faculty of Expert Practitioners, is the recipient of a PresentenseNYC Fellowship, and is an active member of the Schusterman ROI Community. Josh leads High Holiday services at New York’s historic 92nd St. Y, and is the founder and creative director of THEWAREHOUSE, an alternative Shabbat experience for unaffiliated young Jews in major metropolitan areas. www.joshnelsonproject.com

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, released Fall 2013. 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.

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