2021
We are so proud of our
beautiful, sweet little girl.

Congratulations! to Alexander (Teddy) Mazurek for
receiving a doctorate in Classical
Archaeology from University of
Buff alo. His thesis is entitled ‘By Land
and Sea: Reconstructing the Culture
of Etruscan Warfare’. Dr. Mazurek
teaches at St. Bonaventure University.

Golem Cantor
which dealt directly with the
Golem, shiva, gun violence and
many of the themes they would
explore together again.

Th ough much of “Golem”
references previous theatrical
work from Schulman and
Behrend, the ideas they explore
need not be given that context
for viewers to get a sense for
the questions that are being
asked about death, mourning
and community. Behrend hopes
that audiences will walk away
with a new critical eye toward
“the way we express and exhibit
grief, and how it succeeds and
fails in our modern life.”
If viewers exited “A Golem
Sleeps and Wakes in the
Mourning” feeling that they’d
been in a place that had allowed
them to mourn properly,
Schulman said, “I would
consider it a huge success.” ●
in-person. Tilman
attributes his
conducting ability to his famil-
iarity with the two ensemble
pieces he is conducting:
Louis Lewandowski’s “Halle-
lujah”/”Psalm 150” and Charles
Osborne’s “Samachti B’omrim Li.”
With the help of a local
production company, the
discrete videos were trans-
formed into cohesive clips that
will be presented at the concert.

Though they’ve had to
jump through several hoops to
achieve a successful presentation
medium, the assembly is excited
to show what it’s all about.

“Cantors are capable of
much more than just singing,”
said Cantor Annelise Ocanto-
Romo, one of the event’s
organizers and cantor at Ohev
Shalom. “Th is is just a part of
our Jewish soul that we want to
share with everyone.”
Ocanto-Romo hopes that
the virtual concert experience
Continued from Page 20
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Mazel Tov, Isabella!
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Continued from Page 21
will give a broader audience
the opportunity to experi-
ence Jewish music. Though
the cantors are based in
different areas, from Cherry
Hill, New Jersey, to Bucks
County, anyone can access
the concert.

Th e assembly has prepared
for more than six months.

Ocanto-Romo hopes it will be
an opportunity for celebration
following a challenging year
for the community. But for
some, the concert also will be
an opportunity to honor some
of the hardships endured over
the past year.

One assembly member, Art
Katlin, is using his concert piece
to pay tribute to his wife, Evette,
who died from COVID-19
complications in January.

Katlin will sing his wife’s
setting of “Hashkiveinu,” which
won an award from Shalshelet:
Th e Foundation for New Jewish
Liturgical Music in 2004.

JEWISH EXPONENT
“Hashkiveinu” is a prayer
for protection found in the
evening liturgy. “It’s as if God is
sort of lift ing you up, carrying
you,” Katlin said. “God is the
wind beneath my wings, if
you will.”
He and Evette originally
planned on singing the piece
together. Aft er her death, the
piece took on new meaning
for Katlin.

“Th at was the image that
I had of Evette, that she was
always with my family, like the
wind that just went with us,
carried us,” he said.

Th e couple sang together for
40 years, beginning three years
prior to them getting married.

Th ey met at a synagogue choir.

Th e loss of Evette Katlin
was felt by the entire Delaware
Valley cantoral community.

Katlin’s tribute to his wife and
the vulnerability of cantoral
music is something that
Tilman hopes all will feel at
the concert, that the music will
“open up the hearts of both the
singers as the listeners.”
Ocanto-Romo hopes the
concert will give the audience
not only a window into a
cantor’s ability to make music,
but also into the deeply rooted
impact she believes they have
on Jewish culture.

“Cantors play such a pivotal
role in synagogue life, but not
even just in synagogue life, in
the greater Jewish commu-
nity,” she said. “I mean, we are
part of the life cycle; we’re part
of tefi llah, of prayer within
the service; we’re part of our
family’s intergenerational
connection.” To register for the event,
visit the assembly’s Facebook
page for a link. Th ough admis-
sion is free, there is a suggested
donation of $18. ●
srogelberg@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0741
JUNE 10, 2021
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