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To Life!
AROUND TOWN
Staff photos by Angie Bean
Judy Seigel of West Bloomfield, Lynne Obron of Bloomfield Hills, Debbie Gordon of West
Hillary Shaw of Bloomfield Hills with Doug and Judy Etkin of Bloomfield Hills
Bloomfield and Andi Sklar of West Bloomfield
and Billy Stern of West Bloomfield
Music Of The Night
Auction, concert, Rabbi Bennett's bar mitzvah year all highlight Temple Israel benefit.
F
Johannah Whitefield and Jeff Binder of
Chicago
Shari Finsilver of Orchard Lake and Lisa
loating, falling, sweet intoxication" is how Andrew
Lloyd Webber describes the power of the music of the
night in Phantom of the Opera. So it's no surprise that
concertgoers at Temple Israel's annual fundraiser "Music of
the Night" were thoroughly enchanted
by an orchestral program featuring
songs from Guys & Dolls, The Music
Man, Les Miserables and other hit
Broadway shows.
A full orchestra assembled inside the
West Bloomfield temple's main sanctu-
ary, conducted by Cynthia Kortman
Westphal of Ann Arbor, a former
associate music director, conductor
and keyboard player of The Lion King
on Broadway. Temple Israel's Cantor
Michael Smolash, Cantorial Soloist
Neil Michaels, and his wife, Stephanie
Michaels, performed a dozen different numbers.
"You couldn't see as fabulous a concert on Broadway,"
raved Temple Israel executive director David Tisdale of West
Bloomfield. "People were enraptured by the music; it was
amazing!'
In addition to the concert, more than 900 people enjoyed a
strolling supper and wine tasting, a silent auction with dozens
of items and a "death by chocolate" dessert afterglow. Rabbi
Joshua Bennett was called on stage to sing and dance in
honor of his 13th "bar mitzvah" year at Temple Israel.
"It was just a wonderful showing from the community," said
Debra Gordon of West Bloomfield. She co-chaired the event
with her husband, Dr. James Gordon, Lynne and Dr. Jeffrey
Obron, also of West Bloomfield, and Lisa and Hannan Lis of
Farmington Hills.
The $200,000 raised at the event will help secure a Jewish
education for any child whose parents can't afford to provide
one. Temple Israel educates almost one-third of the 4,800 non-
Orthodox Jewish youth in Metro Detroit who attend some form
of Jewish school.
"We bar and bat mitzvah every child, regardless of their abil-
ity to pay," Tisdale said. "This enables us to ensure the Jewish
future of our children and grandchildren."
Spotted in the crowd enjoying the music of the night at
the March 31 event were: Pam and Ken Bloom, Shirley
and Stanley Halprin, Risa and Jay Levinson and Shirley
Saltzman, all of West Bloomfield; Bobbi and Rob Gordon
of Huntington Woods; Cheryl and Marc Bocknek, Sherrie
and Norton Stern and Robbie and Scott Sherman, all of
Farmington Hills; Joyce Keller and Michael Walch, both of
Waterford; Lisa and Ted Efros and Patricia and Fred Erlich,
all of Bloomfield Hills. L
Stern of Franklin
ts: t.
, 4
✓
Mark and Lori Siegel of Bloomfield Hills
Rabbi Joshua Bennett and his wife,
Jenny Villeneuve of Redford and Kevin
Ali Gordon and Andrew Sherman, both
Meg, of Bloomfield Hills
Winship of Clarkston
of West Bloomfield
April 12 • 2007
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