Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 100, No. 12, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 3, 2008 Page: 4 of 32
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Jewish Herald-Voice
July 3, 2008
Up Close
Sweetest music, west of the Mississippi
Women Cantors’ Network meets, entertains for capacity crowd, in Austin, Texas
ft
The Women Cantors’ Network drew 70 cantors and cantorial soloists from around the country, 36 of whom donated their hair
to Zichron Menachem.
Cantors Francyne Davis Jacobs (Houston), Robbi
Sherwin (Austin) and Abby Gostein (Austin) were the
co-chairs for the Women Cantors’ Network conference
and concert, held in Austin from June 22-25.
By ALICE ADAMS
Although Austin, Texas, is the inter-
nationally known scene of a diversity
of music, the 70 members of the Women
Cantors’ Network brought something
totally new and inspiring to the Capitol
City on June 23: an evening concert at
Agudas Achim synagogue.
Cantor Francyne Davis Jacobs,
principal of Houston’s Beth Yeshurun
Hillel High School, and who often
leads Shabbat services in Bryan
College Station, Emanu El and Beth
Yeshurun, co-chaired the event.
Cantor Robbi Sherwin of Austin and
Congregation B’nai Butte, Crested
Butte, Colo., and Abby Gostein, canto-
rial soloist at Temple Beth Shalom in
Austin, were the other co-chairs.
“Because most of our membership
is concentrated in the north and along
the eastern seaboard, we’ve usually
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met on the East Coast,” Davis Jacobs
explained. “This is the first time we’ve
crossed the Mississippi River and met
in the southwestern U.S.”
WCN was established 23 years
ago under the leadership of Deborah
Katchko-Gray, a fourth-generation can-
tor and the second woman to serve the
Conservative community. Female rabbis
and cantors were first accepted in the
1970s, first by Reform congregations. By
the early 1980s, some Conservative con-
gregations were hiring female cantors;
it wasn’t until the end of that decade
that women were officially accepted.
Some of the women cantors attending
the conference in Austin perform canto-
rial duties, but are not officially recog-
nized as cantors.
When the WCN held its first meet-
ing in 1982,12 members attended. Now
there are 300 members, throughout the
United States and internationally.
Highlighting its meeting on alter-
nate years, the WCN commissions
a piece of music by one of its mem-
bers. At this year’s concert, which
attracted an audience estimated at
more than 500, the cantors performed
three of these commissioned pieces.
A fourth will debut at the 2009 con-
ference, slated for Ridgefield, Conn.,
and hosted by Katchko-
Gray.
Beginning the Austin
concert with the Ma’ariv
service, the congrega-
tion was led by Davis
Jacobs and Sherwin and
Gostein, who accompa-
nied with guitars. The
three cantors, attired in
golden cowboy hats, were
accompanied by their sis-
ter cantors, the sounds of
which filled the two-story
auditorium with beauti-
ful harmonies and a rich
blend of voices.
Between this portion of the pro-
gram and the cantorial-commissioned
pieces, the trio announced the WCN’s
mitzvah, benefiting Zichron Menachem,
an Israeli agency that provides ser-
vices and support to Israeli families
with children living with cancer.
“When we announced we would be
supporting this group last year, all of
the cantors began allowing their hair
to grow so that we could contribute
to Zichron Menachem’s wig project,”
Davis Jacobs explained. “On Monday
before the concert, Alan and Susan
Sager of Supercuts, provided haircuts
for those wishing to donate their hair
- and we ended up with 32 braids to
send to be made into wigs for children
undergoing chemotherapy.”
The co-chairs also passed their
cowboy hats, collecting more than
$1,100 to send, along with the braids.
For the second portion of the
program, the 70 cantors performed
“Hashkiveinu 1,” composed in 2005 by
Cantor Natasha J. Hirschhorn. On the
keyboard, Hirschhorn sang with the
choir of cantors, under the direction
of Cantor Annie Rose of Michigan.
The well-crafted and haunting
melodies, combined with the text
of the Evening Liturgy and beauti-
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ful voices, created a distinctive and
inspirational tone to begin this por-
tion of the program.
Austinite Abby Gostein, who
composed “L’chu N’ran’na,” quickly
changed the pace, accompanying her
fellow cantors with her guitar and
offering a joyful and vibrant interpre-
tation of Psalm 95:1-2.
To round out the original compo-
sitions, Cantor Rose returned to the
podium and the cantors performed
Benjie Ellen Schiller’s “L’chayim U-
l’shalom,” written in 2003 and based
on the Evening Liturgy.
Each one of the WCN-commis-
sioned works was distinctive and
unique. The music appeared to reflect
the composers’ personal approaches
to worship and their individual faith.
As a final treat, the group Sababa!
took center stage and performed a
variety of numbers, including many
the artists have recorded on CDs.
Sababa! includes Cantor Robbi
Sherwin on vocals and mandolin,
Steve Brodsky on guitar and vocals,
Scott Leader on guitar, keyboard and
vocals and Herb Belofsky and Sam
Jordan on percussion.
Along with the concert, the Texas
conference offered workshops on
balancing congregational and family
responsibilities, yoga for singers and
congregational CD production.
“Besides the information from the
sessions and the music we share, I
personally always receive the sense
of camaraderie and friendship that
comes from being among colleagues
and women who have come to help
each other and buoy each other up,”
Davis Jacobs said. “When we all come
together, there is an amazing feeling
and energy we look forward to - and
we always go home re-energized and
renewed after these three-and-one-
half days together.”
The cantor said she also was
struck by the diversity of this year’s
gathering. “My age group has been
the youngest in the group until this
year, when one member brought
two of her students with her,” Davis
Jacobs pointed out. “This gave us the
promise the organization will con-
tinue into the future, and because of
this diversity, I have the opportunity
to learn from women who are older,
as well as those who are coming
behind us.”
Overall, the Austin conference
provided each member with a variety
of moments that will become trea-
sured memories. “The concert pro-
vided our members a chance to see
the Austin Jewish community, and
that was a highlight for many of us,”
the cantor said. “On Tuesday, those
attending had a chance to learn a
little Texas line dancing, mixed with
some Israeli dancing, so the experi-
ences were varied.”
The Austin conference was possi-
ble because of the growing number of
female cantors living in the Lone Star
State, including this year’s commit-
tee members: Davis Jacobs, Sherwin
and Gostein, as well as Susan Colin
of Flower Mound, Amy O’Desky of
Round Rock, Patti Turner of Dallas,
Marci Vitkus of Venice (Fla.) and
Renee Waghalter, cantorial soloist,
of Houston. Additional support was
provided by other Houstonians, can-
torial student Sharon Colbert, Cantor
Diane Dorf and Isabelle Ganz.
Houston sponsors included the
Jewish Herald-Voice, Dessert Gallery
Bakery and Cafe, National Council
of Jewish Women, Greater Houston
and Southwest SilkScreening &
Embroidery. □
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Samuels, Jeanne F. Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 100, No. 12, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 3, 2008, newspaper, July 3, 2008; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth543910/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .