SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
For Love of Music
Local musicians fi
nd various outlets to make music and friends.
J
onathan Hirsch and Charles
Chomet are attorneys who enjoy
playing instrumental music.
Hirsch, a cellist, and Chomet, a violin-
ist, met after separate auditions, held
years apart, brought them into the
Royal Oak Symphony Orchestra.
During rehearsal breaks, Hirsch
of Huntington Woods and Chomet
of Berkley got to know each other
and decided to practice law together.
Later this year, Chomet will be getting
married; Hirsch will play the cello to
enhance the celebration.
Across Metro Detroit, many mem-
bers of the Jewish community have
joined community orchestras to find
meaningful outlets for their musical
talents and, along the way, have estab-
lished new friendships.
These instrumentalists have
independently shown a longtime
commitment to continuing studies,
whether through school programs or
private lessons, and they even enjoy
practicing.
“It’
s a nice escape from the realities
of work,” says Hirsch, who looks for-
ward to the final two concerts of the
season. “Jubilate Deo” on March 15
will include choral performers sing-
ing Hebrew lyrics.
Chomet, who has participated in
out-of-state orchestras, says, “I like
the sociability of playing with others.
Also, performing with others brings
a strong sense of discipline.”
Hirsch, who has played as a
guest with the Detroit Medical
Orchestra and for Kol Nidre ser-
vices at Congregation Shir Tikvah,
joined the Royal Oak musicians on
the advice of friend and clarinetist
Michael Cher of Huntington Woods,
chief of urology at Karmanos Cancer
Institute and a Congregation Beth
Shalom member.
“I believe music has healing prop-
erties,” says Cher, a founder of the
Detroit Medical Orchestra some 10
years ago, when free concerts were
established. Cher also appears with
the Spectrum Orchestra, which plays
at Northbrook Presbyterian Church
in Beverly Hills.
The doctor is especially looking
forward to the last concert of the
season on May 19, when he will
present Mozart’
s Clarinet Concerto
in A Major and be in the company
of other family members appearing
as guest instrumentalists — his sons,
brothers and a nephew.
“I was fortunate to grow up in a very
musical family in terms of both play-
ing and appreciating classical music,
”
Cher says. “
Our idea of a family
reunion always seems to involve a lot
of chamber music.
”
A founding member of Orchard
Lake Philharmonic, accountant Barb
Goldman of Farmington Hills plays
violin and is treasurer/business man-
ager for the orchestra. She was con-
firmed at Beth Israel Congregation in
Ann Arbor and has performed at the
Fleischman and Hechtman residences.
“It’
s great to be with people who love
to make music,
” Goldman says. “I can’
t
believe how many people have played
with us and listened to us. I’
ve made so
many friends.
”
On May 10, there will be two per-
formances of “Broadway Bound” that
will feature some enduring works by
Jewish composers, including Richard
Rodgers (“
Carousel Waltz” and South
Pacific selections) and Jerome Kern
(Showboat selections). Both perfor-
mances that day will be at St. James
Catholic Church in Novi.
Social worker and violinist Susan
Feldman of Farmington Hills per-
forms with the Livonia Symphony
Orchestra. She is a retired music
teacher with a bachelor’
s degree in
music and master’
s degrees in music
and social work from U-M.
“I consider this an encore career,
”
says Feldman, who belongs to Adat
Shalom Synagogue and the Jewish
Historical Society of Michigan. “I con-
sider the Livonia Symphony a good
match for me after retiring in 2013 and
joining the orchestra in 2014. It’
s good
for my brain and provides a challenge.
”
Those who have a special affection
for the flute family can enjoy special-
ized concerts by the Michigan Flute
Orchestra, founded by retired Israeli-
raised musician Shaul Ben-Meir,
a former member of the Detroit
Symphony Orchestra.
Concerts range through five
octaves with piccolos, traditional C
flutes, alto flutes and bass flutes. On
March 30 and 31, the program will
range from arrangements of “
Adagio
for Strings” by Barber to “Star Wars
Medley” by Williams.
Paul Shifrin of Ann Arbor, a
retired software developer and Beth
Israel member, plays flute. Before
joining the Michigan Flute Orchestra
10 years ago, he played with a cham-
ber group, The Motor City Quartet.
Janis Braun-Levine of Commerce
Township, a retired technical project
manager and Adat Shalom mem-
ber, began playing flute in her early
school years, stopped, then returned
to the instrument five years ago.
Braun-Levine, a music education
major at U-M, has held affiliations
with the Royal Oak Concert Band,
Harbor Springs Community Band
and the Detroit Flute Guild. She
also plays piano and guitar and has
taught at Temple Israel as well as
Adat Shalom.
“I spend a lot of time practicing,
and I get a lot of satisfaction play-
ing with groups,” she says. “There’
s
camaraderie as we are careful about
blend and intonation.”
Joel Stern of Birmingham, a recently
retired fundraiser and Shir Tikvah
member, studied piano before he was
introduced to the flute.
“Playing music with others is a
social art form,
” says Stern, who
also performs with the Birmingham
Concert Band and at jam sessions at
Aretha’
s Jazz Café in the Detroit Music
Hall. “I get a tremendous sense of
enjoyment from doing this.
”
Therapist Susan Rogers of
Birmingham is a Shir Shalom member
who has played in temple programs.
Although starting young with the
cello, she found it too unwieldy.
“I love the performance part of
playing,
” says Rogers, a member of the
Southeast Michigan Flute Association.
“I’
ve attended adult arts programs at
Interlochen, and I find all the musical
experiences encouraging and inspir-
ing. Through venues and organiza-
tions, I meet like-minded people.
“I believe that at any age, you can
study, learn and grow.
” ■
music
arts&life
details
For schedules and
tickets, go to
detroitmedicalorchestra.
org, livoniasymphony.org,
michiganfluteorchestra.
com, orchardlakephil.
org, royaloakorchestra.
com and spectrum
orchestra.org.
Joel Stern
Michael Cher
Barb Goldman
Paul Shifrin
Jonathan
Hirsch
Susan Rogers
Janis Braun-
Levine
Susan Feldman
Charles Chomet
34 March 7 • 2019
jn