A "Note" from Cantor Finnley

We Need Voices. Do You Sing?

Cantor Finnley invites everyone with choir experience to join the Temple Israel High Holy Day Ensemble. Our High Holy Day choir is a very intensive experience and one you do not want to miss. Experience is preferred because there is a great deal of music to learn in a relatively short time. Basses and tenors are especially needed.

If you are interested in joining the ensemble, please telephone Cantor Finnley at: (310) 539-7115, or e-mail him at finnley@pacbell.net.

High Holy Day Ensemble rehearsals will be held on Wednesdays, beginning July 25, 2007 at 7:00 p.m., with the last rehearsal on Wednesday, September 5, 2007. Rosh Hashanah begins on the evening of Wednesday, September 12, 2007.

Interested persons must be present at 6:30 p.m. on July 25, 2007for a brief audition.

Dear Friends,

As I begin the planning process for the music of our High Holy Day services this year, I find that I must ask for your help. This process is always a challenge, but this year it is especially so, for the financial problems of the Temple will have an impact on the musical program unless we find alternative sources of funds.

Every year, your Temple Israel High Holy Day Choir devotes many hours to rehearsing so we can all hear the beautiful service music to which we have all grown accustomed. With a dedicated group of volunteers, augmented by a small number of paid trained section leaders, the Choir has been able to take on the task of learning and performing some very difficult music.

We all know that music has a way of transcending our thoughts and connecting to our souls. The right kind of music during our services helps us achieve a greater sense of spirituality and of the nearness of God.

For hundreds of years, the High Holy Days have served as the single greatest source of inspiration for generations of Cantors and Composers, motivating them to create music expressing our shared faith: that by our own actions we determine our fate, yet God is willing to pardon if we but truly repent.

You might imagine that much of this music demands singers of extraordinary talent and dedication. You would be correct. You might also imagine that only trained singers would be able to learn this type of music. You would not be correct.

When I arrived at Temple Israel over 22 years ago, I found a High Holy Day Choir consisting only of eight trained professional singers. While they were very good, the sound was thin, coming from only eight voices. In order to obtain a richer sound and a better sense of spiritual involvement from the choir, I decided to try and integrate volunteers from the congregation into this group, using the trained singers to help the volunteers more easily learn the complex music. This idea had worked for me at my previous temple in Washington, DC. And so, my friends, the present Temple Israel High Holy Day Choir was born, and I hope we can continue to enjoy the efforts of its devoted members.

I know how important the High Holy Day music is to a great many of you, for you have told me, year after year. In 23 years, I have never needed to ask for financial help; however this year we need your help to continue with the same level of music.

If you can possibly help keep the music program what it should be, please earmark a donation to the Temple Israel Music Patrons Fund for the benefit of the music program as soon as possible. Any amount will be very, very much appreciated, not only by the Ensemble and me, but also by all those who love the music of the High Holy Days.

B’Shalom,
Cantor Finnley