Our Cantor
Dear Friends,
Ma Nora Ha Makom Hazeh! How awesome is this place?
The launch of Kolot’s awesome new website coincides with my own launch, following my formal ordination as a Cantor this past May from the Academy for Jewish Religion (www.ajrsem.org). I am reminded of what Arthur and I said after we were married, when people asked if marriage was any different than having lived together for years in a committed relationship. Our answer? We said, “it’s the same, but totally different!”
Ritual changes us, transforms us, accompanies us over the bridge from one state to the next. I have been Kolot’s Chazzan and Music Director for over 10 years, but now I am the “Cantor.” What’s the same? What’s changed? Watch the website for more updates, but these are just a few of the things I will be focusing on throughout the coming year:
- I have joined Rabbi Lippmann as part of Kolot’s clergy team and look forward to connecting to you in a variety of social and spiritual situations. It may be me, or the Rabbi, who visits if you are sick in the hospital or home, to sing or pray or talk or sit together!
- You will still hear me sing and lead services at Shabbat and High Holy Days and all the myriad Jewish holidays and events we celebrate together as a community throughout the year.
- I will be working more closely with the B’nai Mitzvah program and Kolot’s Children’s Learning Program.
- If you are planning a wedding, baby naming or any life cycle event - Kolot members or non – I am available!
As for continuing to enhance the Kolot musical experience, my hope is to:
- Build musical collaborations and explorations with the talented instrumentalists and growing cadre of Kolot singers;
- Convene more singing and teaching sessions throughout the year;
- Share and teach Kolot music on the website with MP3’s – including prayers and songs and blessings from services;
- Record a Kolot CD (or two?).
I look forward to singing together, connecting with you and sharing in you and your family’s lives, on and off the bimah!
And I will leave the last word to one of my oldest “rebbe’s” about Music:
“And because it follows the laws of the physical universe, it reminds us of the truth that lies beneath and beyond the illusion that we live in. It gives us relief from the insanity of constantly trying to invent ourselves. And in this way, music is true spiritual practice. I thank God for music, and I thank music for God.” James Taylor
With many blessings for today and this new year,
In song and hope,
Cantor Lisa B. Segal
Cantor Segal sings at the Debbie Friedman Memorial
