Grandchild and grandparents agree choir program was grand

By Sandy Golden

LA JOLLA, California — “Behold How Good …..” and it was good! — In fact, it was not only good,  it was great!–, the it being the “Sing Out!” of the nine San Diego Jewish Choirs  that  performed in a double concert program  at the Lawrence Family  JCC on Sunday afternoon,  April 3.

This entire musical presentation, which was part of the San Diego Jewish Music Series and tribute to the memory of Cantor Henri Goldberg, was coordinated by Eileen Wingard,  well-known to our Jewish community for her talent as a violinist, a musicologist, and a perpetuator of Jewish culture through music.  Now retired from the San Diego Symphony, Wingard  has worked tirelessly with Ted Parker, flutist and JCC volunteer, to catalog the music library of Cantor Goldberg, which is now housed in the JCC’s Astor Library.  This concert, presented by the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture, was the outstanding culmination of their efforts.

My husband Ralph, our 17-year-old granddaughter Becky, and I attended the 1 p.m. performance, and each of us was amazed by the musical diversity of the choirs, and the fact that there was something uniquely special -and different -for everyone.

Becky, now a Junior at a Performing Arts High School, was immediately drawn to the rhythms of the “J Company’s Chai Season” which, in addition to the strains of Fiddler on The Roof and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” included the title song of a popular teen musical,  13.  The latter  further delighted Becky along with the nearly-filled capacity audience at the Garfield Theatre, when individuals from the “company” stepped forward and sang out hilarious one-liners that reflected the yearnings of today’s teens.

“I was totally amazed by all of the younger children, because they were so incredibly focused, and because they sang out so loudly, projecting and looking out at their audience,” commented Becky afterwards, who easily identified with the very young performers, since she had first appeared on stage at the age of seven.

Ralph too, was impressed with, as he said, “the antics” of the “J” Company, noting not only their singing talents and musical ability, but also how they made each of their presentations even more meaningful through their hand gestures and actions. “Creative choreography” he called it.

Ralph was also quite taken with the “Adat Shalom Mensch Tones Barbershop Ensemble.” With their blue shirts and matching ties, and their expressive eyes and smiles, they were another smash hit–and their performance was even further enhanced by the beautiful and melodious voice of their Temple’s Cantor, Soloist Lori Wilinsky Frank.  Although there were more than four men in the group– ( I counted 13 names on the program) their voices blended and harmonized, and as Ralph said, “reminded me of the traditional 4-men Barber Shop Quartets I heard, when I was a boy.

As for myself, this was a uniquely Jewish musical experience, -which, like the traditional Shabbat challah, braided together three components: the music connecting Our People throughout the ages, the performers whose ages spanned from about 8 to 80, and those in the audience who had come to the concert as spectators, and left as participants, as they clapped and sang appropriately along with those on stage. What a wonderful way to welcome the month of Nissan, Spring, and our upcoming holiday of Passover! “Kol Ha Ke-vod”!  to all who participated.

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Golden is a freelance writer based in San Diego.  She may be reached at sandy.golden@sdjewishworld.com