Spirituality

Eliminate the guessing game

9:12 a.m.

I'm sure it's nothing.

9:15 a.m.

Is it a fever?

9:16 a.m.

I'm sure it's nothing.

11:45 a.m.

Called (248) 661-8230.

2:07 p.m.

Saw the doctor and got a prescription.

5:00 p.m.

He's feeling better already.

Call before noon for a
primary care or pediatric
appointment and
eliminate the guessing
game the same day.

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HEALT}-eSYSTEM

HENRY. FQRD MEDICAL CENTER.

Farmington Road

6530 Farmington Road
West Bloomfield, MT 48322
(248) 661-8230

SUHAD YALDO, M.D.
PEDIATRICS'

WE ACCEPT MOST INSURANCE PLANS, INCLUDING:

"PP

A24

July 9

a

2009

Ma El ES El MI

Up With Song!

Temple Beth El fulfills a dream.

Rachel Gottlieb Kalmowitz
Special to the Jewish News

A

few months ago, the Guild of
Temple Musicians, of which I
am a member, was seeking a
congregation with a talented volunteer
choir that would perform the world pre-
miere of the winning composition of the
GTM's 2009 Young Composer's Award.
On May 22, as a sermon-in-song
during Shabbat services, the Temple
Beth El Choir beautifully performed
Ahava, Ashan, Chalom (Love, Smoke,
Dream), with Elsie Inselman conduct-
ing and Jim Gabriel accompanying.
The winning composer, Aviv Kammay,
a 27-year-old native of Tel Aviv, was
given the award on our bimah by
noted composer Ben Steinberg.
When I heard that the Guild of
Temple Musicians was looking for a
choir to premiere the winner of the
Young Composer's Award, I thought that
it would be a wonderful opportunity for
my choir, comprised of volunteers with
professional section leaders, to be fea-
tured and challenged in new ways.
I also knew that they would be hon-
ored and excited to sing a new piece
for its composer.
When I started looking at the piece,
which is actually three movements,
I was immediately impressed by the
evocative poetry. Though the lyrics
are from three different sources (Shir
Hashirim, Yehuda Amichai and poet
Rachel), wordplay pervades the entire
work. At our first rehearsal, I noticed
that the essence of each poem can be
found in the piano accompaniment,
while one can see some more specific
text painting in the choral parts. I
am grateful that our accompanist for
this premiere, Jim Gabriel, is such an
accomplished pianist.
The piece, while ambitious, is written
for a three-part volunteer choir, with
some additional divisi in the women's
voices. Though it took time and focus
for the choir to learn, it is clear by the
enthusiastic response of the hundreds
in our Maas Chapel that our efforts
were rewarded with the joy of creating
something beautiful and memorable.
The Guild of Temple Musicians'
mission is "to provide education
about Jewish liturgical music for [its]
members, utilizing the expertise of
experienced scholars and musicians':
as well as "to encourage young Jewish
composers to write music of Jewish

Aviv Kammy, Cantorial Soloist

Rachel Gottlieb Kalmowitz and Ben

Steinberg at Temple Beth El

content for worship and concert." The
Young Composer's Award is obviously
a significant step towards realization of
the latter goal as it annually challenges
aspiring composers to create new com-
positions within each year's parameters.
Ben Steinberg, composer-in-resi-
dence for Temple Sinai in Toronto is the
creator and head juror of the award as
well as a former president of GTM. I am
honored to have worked with Ben in
the past and appreciate his trust in my
abilities, which led to our performance.
Aviv did his undergraduate work
at Levinsky College of Education
in Tel Aviv and Rimon School of
Contemporary Music in Ramat
HaSharon, Israel. He is the director
of the music program at the Union
for Reform Judaism camp OSRUI
in Oconomowoc, Wis., where he has
worked every summer since 2003.
He is active in the Twin Cities Jewish
community, teaching music and
Hebrew and serving as a synagogue
youth adviser. He has written a num-
ber of chamber and solo instrumental
pieces, including a string quartet for
which he was awarded a scholar-
ship for his undergraduate studies at
Rimon.
Love, Smoke, Dream is Aviv's first
choral composition. He will begin a
graduate program in music education
this fall at Northwestern University in
Evanston, Ill.
Aviv was thrilled with our perfor-
mance of his piece, writing to me
days later that he was "still smiling."
Apparently, in this instance, although
we did all three movements of Love,
Smoke, Dream, that night it was the
"Dream" that prevailed.

Rachel Gottlieb Kalmowitz is cantorial

soloist and music director at Temple Beth

El in Bloomfield Township.