MAY 18 • 2023 | 29
W
hen booking acts
for Temple Israel’s
Schmier Concert
Series, Cantor Neil Michaels
approaches it with the ethos that
Regene Schmier would have used.
“When I’m looking for music
to bring in, I’m looking for
something that our community
wouldn’t be able to hear otherwise,
or to shine a light on an artist
that we know locally who is really
doing wonderful things at a high
level,
” Michaels said.
“
And this is really an extension
of what Regene thought and how
she wanted to bring this type of
music, this art to the community.
”
That was the thinking behind
booking pianist Henry Kramer for
the next Schmier Concert on May
21 at 4 p.m.
The concert is free and open
to the public. The Schmier
Concert Series has been a fix-
ture at Temple Israel for decades
and has been supported by the
Regene & Leslie Schmier Concert
Series Endowment Fund. Leslie
Schmier was Regene’s husband
and was a two-time president of
Temple Israel (the only one) and
was integral to the realization of
the Temple Israel campus in West
Bloomfield. Ronald and Ellen
Schmier have helped steward the
fund since Regene’s passing in
2016.
Kramer has won numerous
awards, including the prestigious
Avery Fisher Career Grant, and
has been named a finalist in some
of the most prestigious piano
competitions in the world. His
talent and dedication to his craft
have made him one of the most
sought-after pianists of his gener-
ation.
“He’s a charismatic person, and
everything he does, certainly with-
in his playing, but even beyond, I
think there’s something magnetic
that translates,
” Michaels said. “He
plays with great sensitivity, and
those two qualities really stand
out when you hear him. I think he
creates really beautiful programs,
which isn’t always easy. I think
some artists can always get stuck in
the familiar … but I think the way
he builds a program and thinks
about it thematically and draws
people in from one thing to the
next, it’s another part of his talent.
”
Regene Schmier was a pianist
herself, so Kramer’s spot on the
schedule serves as a natural fit on
the concert calendar.
The concert series has tradi-
tionally focused on more classical
music but has also thought outside
the box with jazz and klezmer acts
that have been a hit with the com-
munity.
“I think it’s been one of the best-
kept secrets in our community
for a little while as far as chamber
music,
” Michaels said.
Pianist Henry Kramer to perform May 21.
Free Concert at
Temple Israel
SEAN SHAPIRO SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
Henry Kramer
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