Our Adult Choir rehearses a number for "A Night at the Opera"
Welcome to our page all about musical groups!
Music lovers will find a place at Beth Israel.
We have lots of opportunities; the hardest thing will be to choose!
Adult Choir
The Adult Choir is a caring and supportive community of music lovers who take and create much joy in our singing. We rehearse on Tuesday evenings from 7:15 – 8:30pm. Cantor Pamela Siskin and Natasha Ulyanovsky, our Music Director, lead the group.
Contact: Adlyn Loewenthal, chairman of the Music Committee, moc.loanull@detdnanylda, 860-231-7177
We always love to have new voices!
Klezmer Band
A Touch of Klez is our multi-generation Klezmer band. It is made up of musicians of all ages. At present our youngest is a ten year old viola player, and our senior is a clarinet player in his 80s. We practice on Tuesdays from 5:45 to 6:45pm, and share frailach (joy) at selected Oneg Shabbats, Simchat Torah, the Purim and Chanukah parties, and other festive events. We love being asked to play at other CBI simchas. We play a wide range of Klezmer, Yiddish, and Israeli music. If you have a musical instrument gathering dust in your closet, now is the time to shine it up and join the band.
Contact Natasha Ulyanovsky, ten.xocnull@yksvonaylu, or call our Temple office, 860-233-8215.
Purim Play
Our annual Purim Play brings in hundreds of congregants and guests from throughout the Hartford area.
It is a staged play that tells the story of Purim through the very witty lyrics of Pattie Weiss Levy.
Both professionals and amateurs have so much fun that they participate year after year!
Our Austin Organ
The Austin Organ
The Historic Austin Organ, which graces the sanctuary, is a unique jewel among musical instruments. Set modestly behind a tall screen in the loft to the left of the ark, the three thousand pipes, 93 stops and two expression engines produce a spectrum of sound that can be a whisper or a thunderous swell. Built in 1935 at the end of the fad for theatre organs, the instrument is capable of a wide variety of orchestral effects. But it is unique in incorporating a set of pipes that allow a brighter, clearer voicing reminiscent of organs in use at the time of Johann Sebastian Bach. We are fortunate to have a superb concert organist, Natasha Ulyanovsky, who can reveal the extent of the organ’s capabilities.