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Noveaute
The Wedding Singers from page 10
I certainly appreciate the priority of family more," she says. "Jewish weddings
have helped motivate me to instill tradition in my own family."
Leslye Sklar D'Ascenzo, another of many local wedding singers, turned
entertainment into a family business, the Sunset Boulevard Band. A former
member of a Congregation Shaarey Zedek choral group, she works with her
husband, Larry D'Ascenzo, who converted to Judaism.
"What we do at a Jewish wedding depends on how observant the family is,"
says the singer, 49, who also is the business manager for Sunset Boulevard.
"I get to know every couple and what they like. Usually a cantor sings at the
ceremony, but I have done that as well."
D'Ascenzo started singing when she was 12 and worked with private teach-
ers. After earning a bachelor's degree in vocal performance at the University
of Michigan and going on for a master's in
Arizona, she worked with the Michigan Opera
Theatre, dinner-theater companies and local
bands before moving on to Sunset Boulevard.
The song list for her group includes a
Jewish section as well as selections for other
ethnic groups.
"The songs 'Celebration' and 'We Are Family'
are always popular," she says. "I also like to
do Christina Aguilera's 'Ain't No Other Man."
Neal Haber, leader of the People's Choice band, has been entertaining at
Jewish weddings since the 1960s, when he started out in New York. He can
remember a time when Jewish wedding entertainers were mostly Jewish, but
now, even with his own group, there is a wide mix of backgrounds.
"People have been looking for more variety in entertainment at Jewish wed-
dings, and the singers represent that," he says. "It seems that people of differ-
ent ethnic groups associate more and are among the guests.
"We are asked to do a wide gamut of music to please both the people
planning the wedding and the ones who are invited, and we have looked for
singers who can take that on. Some of the people now entertaining at Jewish
weddings were part of the club scene that used to be large."
Jesse Palter, who recently entered that club scene, occasionally entertains
with her jazz band at weddings. Just entering her 20s, she can perform tradi-
tional songs as well as her specialties.
"I love staying true to my roots," says Palter, who sang in the Temple Israel
choir and served as a junior cantor. "I love all kinds of beautiful music."
The music has
to please both
the hosts
and the guests.