ENTERTAINMENT

Tremen us
Sound

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AARON HALBE

for Cantor Orbach's confirma-
tion class. Since then she has
taken on the roles of Hebrew
school teacher, Haftora coach
and adult education leader.
Cantor Orbach recalls that
12 years ago, "Zina was lost
in a strange country, with a
strange language, and in a
totally foreign environment.
She knew nothing about
Hebrew, Jewish songs or the
religious service. But it didn't
take her long to become ac-
climated and she became a
real value; she's priceless to-
day in terms of her
knowledge.
"She is a topnotch, I mean
a national expert in the field
of Hebrew, English and Yid-
dish children's songs. And
she's become invaluable to us
in terms of teaching the
children in the religious
school."
Mrs. Shaykhet received
both her undergraduate and
master's degrees in music
theory and piano perfor-
mance from the Moscow Con-
servatory of Music. Like
many Soviet children, she
says, she started taking piano
lessons at an early age.

After emigrating
from the
Soviet Union,
Zina Shaykhet
adds the beauty
of music to
Temple Israel's
religious
services and
classrooms.

f you're one of the
many people who hear organ
music and automatically
think of a church, Temple
Israel's organist Zina
Shaykhet says, "Nyet," think
again.
Mrs. Shaykeht, a Soviet
emigre, says the organ plays
as prominent a role in the
Reform Jewish tradition as it
does in many Christian
faiths. However, she adds, it is
used very differently during
religious services. "We don't
use the organ like it is used
in a church. It is an accompa-
nying instrument for the can-
tor and the choir. We don't
have the tremendous sound
all the time. The instrument
adds tremendous beauty to
the service."
The two organs at Temple
Israel, she says, are capable of
simulating a variety of
musical sounds ranging from
woodwind and string
tonalities to a simulated full
chorus. This flexibility allows
her to create a musical mood
that is not possible using a
piano.
"It's like you compare a
Lincoln Continental to a Ford

Mrs. Shaykhet enjoys her work at the organ and in the community.

Pinto," she says. "They're
both cars, but you prefer one
to the other because one gives
you tremendous possibilities.
Like you compare our Kurz-
weil organ to a plain upright
piano, the organ gives you so
many different choices. We
could get by with a Pinto,
but . . ."
"It's a real enhancement,"
says Temple Israel's Cantor
Harold Orbach. "When the
organ is playing as people
come in (to the sanctuary), in-

stead of hearing silence or
talk, one can hear beautiful
music which sets the mood."
Mrs. Shaykhet says that for
prayers like Sh'mah and Kad-
dish she can create the ap-
propriate sounds using dif-
ferent registrations, which
are combinations of organ
stops. "It's never the same
sound. And even for the same
prayer," she says, "next week
I use different registrations.
It's like having an orchestra
at your disposal."

Mrs. Shaykhet's organ per-
formance career blossomed
under the tutelage of pro-
fessors Raymond Ferguson
and Hugh Lewis of Wayne
State University. Although
she has been Temple Israel's
organist for almost seven
years, her tenure with the
temple began 12 years ago
after she and her husband
emigrated from the Soviet
Union.
Mrs. Shaykhet began as an
accompanist, playing piano

Her lessons began when she
was 6 with a universal com-
plaint. ". . When I was a
child I felt a little deprived at
the beginning because I want
to play, I want to go outside
and play with other kids. And
my parents insisted on me
practicing and now I'm real-
ly grateful that they pushed
me into it."
Her parents instilled in her
an appreciation for music, but
it was her grandfather who
captivated her with the
richness of the Jewish
musical tradition. "As a child
I always wanted to know
Jewish music because my
grandfather was an Orthodox
Jew. He would teach me
Jewish songs; I heard them
since I was 5 or 6 years old, so
I grew up in that atmosphere.
And when my parents sent
me to music school, I always
wanted to play Jewish songs
because I knew I was Jewish,
but (I played) only Bach,

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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