Hazzanut At the 16th European Cantor’s Convention Cantor Heller, December 6, 2024February 13, 2025 In Budapest, colleagues and friends, Hazzanim (prayer leaders) and music scholars, to share our knowledge aimed at enhancing community engagement through prayer. An example of our rehearsal can be heard here before Shabbat in the beautifully designed Rumbach Synagogue, known for its impressive architecture and intricate stucco walls. Also my… Continue Reading
Hazzanut At St. Pölten Synagogue Cantor Heller, April 18, 2024April 22, 2024 By invitation of the Institute of History of Jews of Austria. I had the privilege of participating in the re-inauguration ceremony of what was once my father’s parents and family’s Synagogue in St. Pölten, Austria, which suffered from the 9th of Nov 1938 pogrom and went through several renovations. This… Continue Reading
Hazzanut The High Holy days music at Belsize Square Synagogue Cantor Heller, September 19, 2023September 19, 2023 The capability to live stream, and archive, our services, allows me the luxury of being able to review, and edit, our important musical legacy. I’d like to share one such development. It’s a new composition by Dr Benjamin Wolf, our synagogue’s Music Director, Choir Master and Composer that was commissioned… Continue Reading
Hazzanut At New London Synagogue Cantor Heller, September 13, 2023September 13, 2023 An evening of song invited by the song shul of Canada in their tour with Cantor Simon and Mrs Aliza Spiro. Hosting at New London Synagogue it’s Cantor Yoav Oved and guest Cantor David Rome who shared songs composed by British Jewish composers accompanied by the excellent pianist Leo Nicholson…. Continue Reading
Hazzanut At West London Synagogue Cantor Heller, December 13, 2022January 16, 2023 As a guest of the Zemel Choir in support of World Jewish Relief in their aid to the crisis in Ukraine, I sung and prayed asking for peace and for the souls of the departed in this cruel war. Here is a little slide show of this beautiful Synagogue and… Continue Reading
Hazzanut In Budapest at the Rumbach Synagogue for the 14th European Cantors Association annual convention Cantor Heller, November 7, 2022October 5, 2023 Attending the 14th European Cantors Association annual convention in Budapest at this beautiful Synagogue built 1872 and restored in 2021 by the Hungarian government. For 5 days, almost a 100 of us, coming to pray from all over the world to share experiences, knowledge and our music. Two choirs joining… Continue Reading
Hazzanut At St.Martin in the Fields Cantor Heller, March 25, 2022September 21, 2023 As guests for the interfaith first ‘Faithful Voices’ concert on 24 March St Martin-in-the-Fields. sponsored by the Zemel Choir, the Belsize Square Synagogue Professional Choir together with St. Martin’s own Chamber Choir, the West London Choir, the Zemel Choir with their soloist Cantor Robert Brody; Divyanand Caird (Saraswati Veena) and… Continue Reading
Hazzanut Weddings are back Cantor Heller, August 2, 2021June 14, 2022 Yesterday 1st of Aug 2021, finally Lisa and Gary had their chuppah planned before the pandemic and postponed twice, it was a memorable occasion, they hired our Sanctuary, beautifully designed for this type of ceremony, professional quartet, and organ in the loft, music as in our repertoire, this a little… Continue Reading
Cantorial The Professional Choir of Belsize Square Synagogue Cantor Heller, June 7, 2021June 8, 2021 TO THE PROFESSIONAL CHOIR OF BSS AT THE HENRY KUTTNER SHABBAT–OCTOBER 2014 When I learned that I had been chosen to work in this Synagogue There were so many feelings at once: joy, fear … I did not know what fate was in for me. Many questions and many doubts… Continue Reading
Hazzanut Louis Lewandowski’s 200th anniversary Cantor Heller, May 19, 2021October 21, 2022 Louis Lewandowski 1821-2021 Keeping the legacy of Louis LewandowskiFrom a lecture at the European Cantors Association, Prague 2016 Cantor Dr. Paul Heller Tina Frühauf has given us a book that is as much about Jewish identity as it is about music. She presents the organ as a marker of Jewish… Continue Reading