EUROPEAN CANTORS ASSOCIATION The future of synagogue music Patrons: Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis Cantors Naftali Herstik, Joseph Malovany Convenor: Alex Klein. CEE Branch Head: David Schwezoff Annual Meeting of the European Cantors Association Friday 11 July 2014. 13.20 Bethlen Square Synagogue Budapest Agenda 1. Present 2. Apologies 3. Annual Report including Newsletter and financial reports 4. Appointment of Newsletter editor and other roles 5. The future – Discussion as to what each chazzan will do in his own area and environment and how ECA can help? 6. AOB The European Cantors Association (ECA) was launched by Cantor Joseph Malovany in July 2012 in Manchester at the 7th annual European Cantors Convention. • ECA was created as a framework within which cantors themselves can work individually and together to raise their profile and standing in the community. • This has inspired and enabled cantors to become active in working with the younger generation, engaging in meaningful dialogue with rabbis and lay synagogue leadership and arranging study days and conventions to improve their skills and knowledge. • The ECA slogans are ‘the future of synagogue music’ and ‘no more blame, let’s get on with the game’. Cantors today realise that unless they take the viability of their future into their own hands, the timeless and traditional cantorial music loved by centuries of Jews may be lost forever. Membership £10 (or $15 or E15) per annum. Download Membership Form ECA Annual Report - July 2013 – June 2014 Convenor of ECA Alex Klein would like to thank Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, Chief Rabbi of the UK and Commonwealth (who became a Patron in 2014) and his office for their support and encouragement in all that ECA is doing to teach and encourage nusach hatefilla in synagogues in the UK and Europe. Alex also thanks the members of the ECA executive committee and all those who have contributed to activities – as can be seen in the following report of activities in 2013 -2014: AGM agenda and annual report 2014 Page 1/5 EUROPEAN CANTORS ASSOCIATION The future of synagogue music Patrons: Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis Cantors Naftali Herstik, Joseph Malovany Convenor: Alex Klein. CEE Branch Head: David Schwezoff Participatory programmes: Shabbat Shira: ECA has identified Shabbat Shira, in January/February each year as an opportunity for all members and colleagues to focus the attention of the rabbis and congregation on the music of the synagogue. We encourage every prayer leader to take advantage of this musical Shabbat to educate and inspire their own communities on that day. We make suggestions of what they could do such as below and invite synagogues to tell us what they are doing. 1. Have the Rabbi give a sermon on Music in the Synagogue 2. Prepare a music information sheet for congregants 3. Sing something special – that the rabbi will tell the congregation about or ask you to talk about yourself 4. Have the choir participate and perhaps be prominent in the synagogue and not hidden behind a curtain or in the loft 5. Get some children in to sing 6. Have a singing Shabbat lunch for the community etc etc So far there has not been much feedback to ECA, but we hope that this initiative is finding fertile ground around the UK and Europe. Dialogue with synagogue leaders ECA encourages all cantors and prayer leaders to engage in meaningful dialogue with the Rabbis and lay leaders of synagogues or synagogal bodies and to forge a greater understanding of the contribution of the cantor to services. Steven Leas continues to have dialogue with the United Synagogue establishment and is working on creating a pre-Kabbalat Shabbat service with music and instruments for schools. Alex Klein is in contact with the Office of the Chief Rabbi to develop the supportive relationship that exists between ECA and Rabbi Mirvis. (See the letter of welcome and support for Convention attached or in the conference folder). London Activities: London group welcomed three new full-time cantors in the Capital: In December 2013, ECA London Group together with the Jewish Music Institute (JMI) and European Academy for Jewish Liturgy (EAJL) held an event at the University of London to welcome cantors Jason Green from Canada (at the New London Synagogue – Masorti) Paul Heller from Colombia (at Belsize Square Synagogue – Independent) Steven Leas (already in London from South Africa – but now full-time at Central Synagogue) There were short presentations by Steven Leas of what ECA is doing and by Jaclyn Chernett of what the European Academy for Jewish Liturgy is doing in the field of synagogue music. Then each of the cantors answered questions as to why they came to London, the challenges they face and how they see their roles – and then they sang, accompanied by Benjamin Wolf, music Director of Belsize Square Synagogue. Rabbi Cantor Geoffrey Shisler concluded the evening saying how pleased he was to see communities employing full-time, modern 21st Century chazzanim who will become valuable members of the synagogue clergy. It is such a positive and wonderful change to celebrate together and on behalf of ECA he extended the hand of friendship to our new colleagues. AGM agenda and annual report 2014 Page 2/5 EUROPEAN CANTORS ASSOCIATION The future of synagogue music Patrons: Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis Cantors Naftali Herstik, Joseph Malovany Convenor: Alex Klein. CEE Branch Head: David Schwezoff Northern Activities Alex Klein, Convenor of ECA and part of the Northern branch reports being involved in teaching nusach and chazzanut in the North with the help of chazzan Yehuda Marx. He has also given several talks on chazzanut to societies, clubs and synagogues and attended Manchester Limmud giving a session entitled ‘What is Chazzanut’. This was well attended and has lead to more invitations to talk. There have also been cantorial related concerts in the North including one by the Leeds University Choir, conducted by Stephen Muir which included a première of Dovid Ajzensztadt’s moving choral setting of “Chad Gadya” discovered in Cape Town, South Africa, among the papers of Cantor Froim Spektor (formerly Chief Cantor of the Choral Synagogue, Rostov-on-Don). The ECA partnership with the Tel Aviv Cantorial Institute (TACI) and the ECA Julian Klein scholarship scheme has supported two northern chazzanim to spend some time in Israel. Leeds Chazzan Alby Chait has recently returned after taking some time out there to improve his skills. Nathan Goldman – a young man from Manchester who is now serving in the IDF has graduated from TACI and Raymond Goldstein sent Alex a video of his graduation which gave Alex great nachus. Alex, who recently spent a ‘holiday’ in Jerusalem with family also managed some productive meetings there including attending a tribute concert to the late Moshe Schulhoff, an invitation to lecture at the Elli Jaffe Cantorial School and introducing his 7 year old grandson to the joys of cantorial music. Training: Cantors Convention 2014 For the first time the ECA can be seen to be truly European. We thank David Schwezoff for hosting and managing convention in Budapest at his Bethlen Square orthodox synagogue in 2014 from Thursday 10 to Monday 14 July. We are responding to those who cant easily spare weekdays as they have day jobs, but of course this could be a problem for cantors who work at the weekends!) Guest teachers are Yaakov Motzen and Asher Hainovitz and the Jerusalem Cantors Choir will attend and sing in the concert and at the special Shabbat services. Details and registration forms are on the ECA website. Creating the framework and structure of the Convention and the programme content has been a team effort of Alex Klein, working with Geraldine Auerbach in London and with David Schwezoff in Budapest and with Barbara Rosenberg who will be in Budapest as the hospitality manager again. We are delighted to say that Hirsh Cashdan is once again on the Convention management team and has been developing the programme, communicating with the presenters and will be the Convention Coordinator for the teaching sessions in Budapest. ECA wishes to record its thanks to all of these stalwarts. Nusach Classes ECA hopes to set up regular nusach classes in London and elsewhere. If chazanim are to have a future, they need to make all efforts to improve their skills and situation every day. Academic Conference 2015 The ECA academic wing is collaborating with the School of Music at the University of Leeds to hold an academic Conference on the music of Jewish prayer 23 – 26 June 2015. Keynote AGM agenda and annual report 2014 Page 3/5 EUROPEAN CANTORS ASSOCIATION The future of synagogue music Patrons: Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis Cantors Naftali Herstik, Joseph Malovany Convenor: Alex Klein. CEE Branch Head: David Schwezoff speakers include Professors Eliyahu Schleifer of Jerusalem; Mark Kligman of the University of California Los Angeles and Jeffrey Summitt of Tufts University. Details and a call for papers will soon be on the ECA and Leeds University websites. Communications: Communications by email Emails have been sent to members of the mailing list whenever there was something to announce or update including invitations to events and details of Convention. Please forward email addresses of anyone you think may be interested to [email protected]. Notices have also been placed on other relevant web places such as the ECA facebook pages, the email lists of Jewish Liturgical Music, the Jewish Music Web centre, Charlie Bernhaut’s website and email list and others. Website www.cantors.eu Russell Grossman has kept our ECA website up-to-date and vibrant. Russell also has set up a twitter feed. Go to the website to join with this for instant communication.