50 | MAY 30 • 2024 
J
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ARTS&LIFE
MUSIC

Off the Bimah

T

welve Michigan 
cantors, six women 
and six men, will be 
stepping away from their 
congregational strongholds 
and going into the larger 
community as they present 
a variety of songs — theater, 
pop and Yiddish — in the 
annual concert spotlighting 
members of the Michigan 
Board of Cantors.
Off the Bimah, scheduled 
Wednesday evening, June 
5, at the Berman Center 
for the Performing Arts in 
West Bloomfield, is being 
produced and directed by 
Penny Steyer (Temple Shir 
Shalom) with Daniel Gross 
(Adat Shalom Synagogue) 
as co-producer and Berman 
Center liaison.

Like other cantors, the two 
have spent time establishing 
careers in non-liturgical 
fields and will bring those 
styles to the stage. While 
Steyer has mainly worked 
in jazz and adapted into 
variations of her parents’ 
careers, Gross has mainly 
worked in opera. 
“This year’s theme is 
quite eclectic, and we have a 
couple of new people,” Steyer 
said. ”I call it a potpourri 
in song. It’s going to have 
some Israeli music, and 
Hazzan Gross and Cantor 
Neil Michaels (Temple Israel) 
open as the Bari Brothers, 
which is a takeoff on the 
Barry Sisters as expressed by 
two baritones. 
“In the past couple of 

years, we added an Allan 
Sherman tribute song. It 
makes everyone laugh, and 
I like when people laugh. It’s 
all about what the cantors 
like to perform when they’re 
not singing on the bimah.
“I’m doing a song called 
‘Control Yourself,’ a fabulous 
jazz piece that was created 
by Cleo Laine. It’s a fun piece 
and allows the singer to show 
off vocally with some fun to 
it.” 
Steyer, whose dad was a 
musical arranger for stars like 
Lionel Hampton and whose 
mother sang with the NBC 
Orchestra, revealed there’s 
going to be a Kurt Weill piece 
presented by Pamela Schiffer 
(Congregation Shaarey 
Zedek in East Lansing). 

Gavrielle Pescador (Ann 
Arbor Reconstructionist 
Congregation) will 
accompany herself on the 
harp.
Also performing will be 
Earl Berris (Congregation 
B’nai Moshe), Tiffany Green 
(Temple Kol Ami), Rachel 
Gottlieb Kalmowitz (Temple 
Beth El), Steve Klaper 
(Congregation Shir Tikvah), 
David Propis (Congregation 
Shaarey Zedek in Southfield), 
Michael Smolash (Temple 
Israel) and Rosalie Toubes 
(Temple Emanu-El).
“I think this program 
brings unity to the 
community,” said Steyer, who 
likes to mix dramatic and 
lighter pieces throughout the 
program and has performed 

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Twelve Michigan cantors featured in June 5 concert.

Cantor Steyer 
performing at 
the JCC

Hazzan 
Gross in an 
operatic role

