Cantors Plan Charity Concerts

With religious school winding down this month at many synagogues, some cantors will regularly seize the opportunity to produce a brief season of secular concerts with guest artists and visiting cantors.

Such a shift from liturgical music to secular show tunes will take place May 22 at a fundraiser for Westminster’s Temple Beth David. The vocal lineup includes three local cantors, including Beth David’s own cantorial soloist, Nancy Linder; along with Congregation Shir Ha-Ma’alot’s cantor, Arie Shikler; and Temple Beth Sholom’s cantor, Mark Thompson. Beth Wasserman Rosenfeld, chazzan sheni of the Reconstructionist synagogue Kehillat Israel in Pacific Palisades, will fill out the soprano section. They will be accompanied by an eight-piece Huntington Beach-based band and produced by David Pinto, who has produced Linder’s CDs.

Beth David hopes for an annual concert reprise to bulk up its budget to pay for items such as a pulpit ramp for the sanctuary and new chairs for the social hall, Linder said.

June 6 will mark the 10th cantorial concert at Newport Beach’s Temple Bat Yahm organized by its cantor, Jonathan Grant. Grant will be joined by nine colleagues from around Southern California on a "Journey Through Jewish Music." They will be accompanied on the piano by Thomas MacFarlane.

In Irvine, Shir Ha Ma’a lot’s Shikler will again feature the Los Angeles-based Moshav band at his 7:30 p.m. concert, June 26. The group has a large following among the Orthodox community.

"It’s an opportunity for each of us to do material we can’t do all year," Shikler said.

Beth David is located at 27462 Hefley St., Westminster. For tickets, $18-$100, call (714) 892-6623.