Printer Friendly

Email to A Friend

Tuesday January 7, 1997

New Shir Hadash cantor wants her congregants to sing along

LESLIE KATZ
Bulletin Staff

Congregation Shir Hadash's new cantor likes to put it this way: "I'm not a diva on the bimah."

For Devorah Felder, being a cantor is not about grabbing the spotlight. It's about making Jewish liturgy and prayers as accessible as possible.

"My congregants have always told me that when I sing, I smile from the bimah," says the 29-year-old Felder, who was recently officially installed as the first cantor of the Los Gatos Reform congregation. "I want people to sing with me. I get more joy out of that than hearing myself sing."

It makes sense then, that Felder's cantorial duties would include directing the Shir Hadash choir. The night she was installed, she directed the chorus in several numbers, including modern versions of the Yismechu and Shehechiyanu that are new to the congregation.

The graduate of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is schooled not only in modern Jewish music, but in the traditional melodies that have been sung for centuries.

"Cantor Felder provides a depth of Jewish musical knowledge new to our community," says Shir Hadash Rabbi Melanie Aron.

A soprano who has held student pulpits in Waterford, Conn., and Glenview, Ill., Felder insists that music enhances the experience of prayer.

"Sometimes, words that we just read off a page don't move us in the same way as hearing the melody played," she says.

It's a subject Felder has considered in depth. Her thesis at HUC-JIR focused on the late American composer Max Janowski and the way in which his pieces illuminate the meaning of the texts. Among Janowski's compositions is a version of Avinu Malkeinu widely sung in Reform synagogues during the High Holy Days.

A native of Illinois who attended Michigan State University and the University of Illinois, Felder was heavily involved with Jewish youth groups and spent summers at Jewish camp. While immersed in such activities, she found herself drawn to Jewish music. By the time she was a junior in college, she had decided the cantorate would be a way to "do something about both of my loves."

Besides Judaism and music, Felder has other loves, including golf, softball, bowling, shopping and curling up with a good mystery novel.

But these days, she has little time for hobbies. In addition to serving as cantor at Shir Hadash, the Campbell resident is also working as education director at nearby Keddem Congregation, a Reconstructionist synagogue in Palo Alto.

Juggling positions at two synagogues may be a formidable task; it has also been an opportunity for Felder to get to know a fairly large chunk of the South Bay Jewish community. She moved to the Bay Area in midsummer.

"The community of Los Gatos and San Jose is very warm and open and friendly," Felder says. "I really have been embraced."

Did you find this article interesting? Subscribe to our FREE newsletter and you'll be notified each week when "J." goes online. We'll tell you about the most important stories of the week and give you a link to each one.

This page contains a BETA version of Amazon contextual links. They are marked by the dashed underline.  Your purchases support our site. At times they point to items which are not related to the actual link. Please alert us by email if you discover objectionable links.