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 participation at the gala concert in tribute to Maestro Hazzan Naftali Herstik zz”l, with whom I sung in Prague in 2016 this piece he conducted with his students of the Tel Aviv Cantorial Institute. My lecture on the original organ from Temple times II BCE that demonstrates it’s more Jewish than that it has roots in the Church, as many that oppose its use in Synagogue would falsely argue. Bringing the Temple organ to the Synagogue Related Hazzanut CantorialEuropean Cantors AssociationHazzanutLewandowskiLiturgySulzer
Hazzanut Weddings are back 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… Read More
Hazzanut Summer Weddings and the Sacred Harmony of Hans Bloemendal’s Sheva Brachot June 19, 2025July 21, 2025 There’s something uniquely magical about summer weddings. The golden light, the scent of blooming flowers, and the warmth of long days create a perfect backdrop for love and celebration. In Jewish tradition, this joy is elevated by the Sheva Brachot—the Seven Blessings—recited under the chuppah and during the week of festivities… Read More
Cantorial Tavo Lefanecha: A Masterpiece Through the High Holidays July 27, 2026August 6, 2026 As we approach the High Holidays, there is one piece that has become woven into the fabric of Belsize Square’s liturgical year—Louis Lewandowski’s Tavo Lefanecha (May It Come Before You). It is a work that embodies much of what we preserve and continue in our tradition, and this seems a… Read More