Celebrating the Creative spirit:  OUR VOICES  PROGRAM

Recently we celebrated the creative spirit in our community by hosting an evening of the performing arts including photographers, poets, filmmakers, painters, dancers, actors, comics, musicians and singers.

I am grateful to all those who chose to participate in this special program, who believed in themselves and were able to create a very moving experience sharing their gifts with our community.  I believe it’s from that space of fearlessness and empowerment, that we can create a place of safety and love.    And we did it!

Differences were embraced and celebrated, which led others to search for their own voice, their own uniqueness.   My hope is that over time, that we will continue to celebrate ourselves as a community, and be ever more present in each other's lives, reaping the rewards of being connected to something larger than ourselves, a spiritual family that’s stronger together.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Who are we?     What is our passion?      Who inspires us?

All the participants in the concert were invited to answer three questions (see below) designed to reveal their thoughts and influences on their particular art.   Reading their responses provides us, as a community, with a window into their unique lives, where we can hear their personal stories, learn what they value, and see who were their inspirational role models.   

What better way to become a spiritual community than by sharing our lives so that we might know who we are, and dream of what we might become?

            What brought you to this art form?   

            Why is it important in your life today?

            Who has inspired you in this area and why?

Peter Quentin, Singer/Songwriter 

Hearing the first notes of 'That'll Be The day' in 1957 brought me to music. I can't imagine my life without playing, songwriting, singing and performing.   Role models include Buddy Holly, Bob Dylan and the www.myspace.com/peterquentinBeatles all the way thru' Flamenco guitarist Manitas de Plata, folk balladeer Richard Dyer-Bennett, opera tenor Jussi Bjorling and composers Claude Debussy and Gustav Holst.   I’m drawn to their music because it contains, separately or in combination, great timing, lyrical expression and unique melodic structure.

Stephanie Waissler, Photographer  (with husband Steve Rubin)

Her photographs raise consciouness to support the orphaned

and underprivileged children of Nepal.

Wendy Kamenoff, Comedienne

oy!    where do i begin?   my mom says when walking my stroller through central park as a baby, all the other kids would be lying there quietly or napping. me, i was up, talking, babbling, smiling, shaking hands, running for office. always was like that. a need to connect, tell stories, interact with others. always.

storytelling, stand up comedy, acting - all make the sometimes big bad world a community. a sweeter, smaller place. we need that.  i need that. i believe the culture needs that.  a colleague of mine says, people have stopped telling stories because as a culture, we have stopped listening.

well, i am an actor first and my inspirations are many. some of my faves include gene hackman and francis mcdorm and.phillip seymour hoffman, and my teacher, jeffrey tambor.  never catch them acting.

as far as stand up, i love wendy liebman, stephanie blum, elayne boosler. george carlin was first big influence as a stand up. starting memorizing his routines as a kid. and of course, bette midler, who is funny but not a stand up, and lily tomlin, who is a magician when it comes to character work

  Beth Shir Sholom Choir

   Firoza Jhabvala    Susan Gabrich    Susan Rubini     Ceryl Feldman         Linda Hoffman       Ari Hahyar

Performed Debbie Friedman's setting of the prophet Zechariah's call to end war; 

Not by Might, but by My spirit alone, shall we all live in peace."

Firoza Jhabvala

My instrument has always been the piano, but since I was in need of an outlet and loved to sing, I decided to join the choir    The choir helped me discover my Jewish roots through music, which is an important piece of my life today.   Rabbi Neil, as well as the Cantors I’ve been fortunate to know along the way, have inspired me by their warmth and beautiful voices, which makes participating in prayer a joy.     I love the liturgical music of the service, and feel connected to the beautiful melodies I’ve learned as well as the welcoming atmosphere of our synagogue family.

Judy Stearn, Poet

Shared a poetic tribute to her guide dog of many years.

Stefani Valdez, Chuck Leavitt, and Madeline Leavitt, Dance Ensemble

Madeline Leavitt
I was born to dance.  Growing up in New York I was exposed to dance and theater.  I had a natural gift for dance.  I studied dance at the age nine and haven't stopped.  Without dance, my soul is dead.  My parents recognized my passion to dance and did all they could to support my dream.  Many have mentored me along the way, in both modern and classical forms.   My most inspiring teachers is my Indian dance teacher, Ishvani, who taught me Bharata Natyam, a classical dance of South India.  I hope movement is a part of your life too!

Leila Balter, Singer (with her dad, Jonathan)

I hear the music and it makes me happy to do sing and dance.

I see it also makes other people happy,  which makes me want to do it more. 

Seeing mommy and daddy having fun singing and dancing, is why I love it too!

Steve Rubin, Singer/Songwriter

My older brother got a classical guitar as a Bar-mitzvah present. He never played it and for a few years it just leaned up against the wall in a room that my we shared.  To this day, I don’t know what drove me to pick it up.    For me, playing guitar, writing songs, and performing remain my favorite form of self expression.    My first inspiration was my mother, who almost fainted as I slogged my way through "Proud Mary" after teaching it to myself using my older brother's songbook to learn the chords. Others include Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, James Taylor, Duane Allman, the Allman Brothers, Dickey Betts and Carlos Santana.  More recently, I have been inspired by my wife, Stephanie, and my three wonderful children.

Brenda Barrie, Poet

When I began writing poetry it was because I had no time to write novels. Poetry is an art form where each word is a distinct entity, unlike larger pieces where the sentence, paragraph or even chapter is the most important. My poetry is a constant tension between pragmatic matters and spiritual matters.

Sara Rose, Singer/Songwriter

Music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember mostly because of my dad. He took me to my first concert when I was 3!    My dad instilled a passion for music in me. Music is important in my life today because it is my form of self expression which allows me to be creative and original. It is therapeutic, spiritual, and infectious in a way unlike anything else in my life.  Two of my musical inspirations are Bono of U2 because of his ability to draw so much feeling and passion into a song and Adam Duritz of the Counting Crows because of his ability to turn a simple idea into beautiful poetry.

Ben Rubinyi, Songwriter               Susan Rubinyi, Author

Ben

Music was in my heart, my genes, and my soul.  Music best expresses what goes on inside of me.  I can write songs of protest and inadvertently, find it deeply touches others.  Many have inspired me along the way: the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Led Zepplin because their songs speak about injustice in the world in unique ways.

Susan

Both music and writing have always been an integral part of my life.  I see both art forms as “languages” in the largest sense of the word—expressing different parts of the emotional spectrum.  I am greatly enjoying integrating music and words in the nurturing spiritual context of  Beth Shir Sholom.

My father, pianist Benno Rubinyi, provided a role model of someone who had the courage and determination to pursue a career in what he loved most, music.  From my mother, Jeannette, I learned the subtleties and joys of  language.  So many musicians and writers have nourished my creative development—to name just a few: Brahms, singer/songwriter Bill Staines, Edith Piaf  (music), E.M. Forster, Alain Fournier, Mikhail Bulgakov (writing).

Paula Mattlin, Singer/Songwriter

What brought me to the art form of singing is simply the sheer freedom of it. Singing is very complex, yet at the same time very simple. Singing is important in my life today because I honestly believe that everyone were given a chance to really express themselves through music, the world would be a much better, more beautiful place. My main inspiration comes from my mom and from songbirds. I have been listening to my mom's beautiful voice even before I was born,  and songbirds inspire me because they can make any melody sound nice.  Even a car alarm, when trilled by a mockingbird, is a work of art.

Hayley Quentin, Painter

I love painters, I'm a painter.   I look at things and how they can be represented in terms of light and color, form and shape, and how I can manipulate them.      There should be a pleasure in looking at my paintings, the beauty in the form of the figure, and in the non-form of the paint and surface; both should relate to the subject matter. 

I'm inspired by the 19th century, the time of the Dandy figure, who is a very important example of the type of sensibility that I represent in my figures, particularly the decadent dandy.  There is beauty bound up in the sensual aspects of the form of the body, decadence represented in the form of the body, as opposed to the accumulation of goods.   Oscar Wilde ("Dorian Grey") is one of the greatest Dandy's of all time,  and epitomized this period.    I'm not painting a specific historical figure, nor am I painting a specific contemporary person, although I use my friends as models; they are real people, yet they end up looking fairly similiar.   It's because I find a sensibility of the Dandy and these contemporary figures that I try to represent in painting.  It's not about a specific person, but more about my view, and my application.

Ruthie Buell, Singer/Songwriter

I sing today because of the 400 songs I learned at Camp Nawakwa in Michigan as a child, and the money my father paid me every morning, not to practice the piano.   Two minor epiphanies firmed up music’s important role in my life: a message in a fortune cookie informing me that I was the female Messiah, and seeing the face of Elijah in an arrangement of  lox ‘n cream cheese on a bagel.

Inspiration has come from lights such as Florence Foster Jenkins, (an opera singer) and Julia Moore (The "Sweet singer of Michigan"), Mark Twain's favorite poet. These two individuals achieved great success in their fields in spite of constant ridicule, and performed enthusiastically, unhampered by a total absence of talent. 

Cantor Ken as Emcee

Mike Stearn

Since I was very young, I've always loved to sing.  My first instrument was the piano but I never was comfortable with it.   I wasn't allowed to play rock N roll and pop in my house in early sixties.  Finally, I turned 13 and my mother bought me a guitar, and my cousin graciously taught me for several years.  I took to it naturally and it serves to this day, as an accompanying instrument for my voice, which is my most musical expression.

Music, as an art form, is a part of what defines me as a person.  I'm not sure where I'd be if I wasn't singing and playing music.  The profound joy it gives me is not easily put into words.

There's no question that rock and roll, r and b soul music and folk music have been the cornerstone of my life.  But of course, the Beatles really got me wanting to sing and play and perform, as well as other influences by the British invasion groups of that era.    Groups like the Byrds, Beach Boys Buffalo Springfield, and Crosby Stills and Nash, were heavily influential.

Bob & Roselee Packham

Bob and Roselee started writing songs together in the early 80’s as kind of “dating ritual.”  Bob wrote the music, Roselee the lyrics…and then they got married. Now, he re-writes the lyrics and she criticizes the music!  But seriously, they have been making music together for close to 30 years and hope to continue to do so for many years to come!

All of the participants in "Our Voices"  taking their final bows  -  Congratulations!