L ifestyles /C ulture
been a part of reproducing the
same inequalities that the state
has, Berman argues.

Jewish philanthropy, like
the American financial system,
has developed in such a way
as to concentrate power into
the hands of a small group
of wealthy parties. Berman
sees the movement of the U.S.

economy as being in favor
of capital, at the expense of
democracy, and so, too, for
the philanthropic bodies that,
as she acknowledges, pay her
salary, support the newspaper
she reads, fund the public
radio she listens to and fills
the art museum she visits.

Philanthropy is so ubiqui-
tous that its particulars seem
natural and unchangeable.

Berman sketches the history
of Jewish philanthropy, relying
on primary source documents
and interviews with industry
leaders to explain how Jewish
communal wealth came to
be used in its present form, a
deep toolbox of donor-advised
funds and endowments that, in
her estimation, keep resources
from being distributed as they
should. Her deep knowledge of
the development of American
tax policy regarding nonprofits
powers the book forward, and
could send you looking for
more to read afterward, too.

If there is a way toward
a more democratic vision of
American Jewish philan-
thropy, Berman believes, it
will come with honest engage-
ment on the subject. No matter
what anyone else might think
about a bunch of Jews and their
money. l
jbernstein@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0740
Chai. News for people who know
we don’t mean spiced tea.

Every Thursday in the
JEWISH EXPONENT
and all the time online
@jewishexponent.com. @jewishexponent.com
For home delivery,
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JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Zoom Singing a Bust, Choirs Get Creative
M USIC
SOPHIE PANZER | JE STAFF
AFTER 52 PEOPLE in
Washington state became
infected with coronavirus during
a choir rehearsal in March, the
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention published a report
declaring communal singing a
potential “superspreader” event.

The news was devastating
to singers and choirs all over
the world.

“It became very clear that
there was not going to be any
choral music of any kind for
maybe 12 to 18 months until
a vaccine was invented,” said
Cantor David Tilman, conductor
of Shir KI, the adult volunteer
choir at Reform Congregation
Keneseth Israel in Elkins Park.

“So everybody entered this
period of frustrating inactivity
and a lot of grief and a lot of
hand wringing.”
Like everyone else in 2020,
singers and conductors have
used technology to collaborate
and adapt to their constrained
circumstances. “In mid-June, the concept of
the virtual choir was becoming
very, very popular all over the
United States, and not only
with choirs but with orchestras
as well,” Tilman explained.

Nashirah, the
Jewish Chorale of Greater Philadelphia,
continues to meet for rehearsals
online. Meetings are typically 90
minutes and split into sections,
including sight singing practice,
presentations on breathing
techniques and lectures on
various topics in Jewish music.

Conductor Julia Zavadsky
said Nashirah will host a
virtual lecture series begin-
ning Oct. 16. The 2020
schedule includes appearances
by Jonathan Coopersmith,
chair of music studies at Curtis
Institute of Music, and Donald
Dumpson, conductor of the
Philadelphia Heritage Chorale,
who will speak about the
Shir KI sings during a recorded Rosh Hashanah performance.
connections between Jewish
and African American music.

It also will host Festival of
Light, a Chanukah celebration
featuring singers and dancers
from Israel, New York and
Argentina. The series will continue into
2021 and feature virtual choir
performances in addition to
speakers. Zavadsky said the choir’s
virtual schedule may be busier
now than it was a year ago.

“We were practicing every
day, obviously, and preparing
for concerts, but it was more
focused on only singing,”
she said. “And now, because
singing is obviously limited
in a way, we figured out that
making music together is not
limited in other ways. So we’re
exploring all of them right now
and keeping us all together and
as positive as possible.”
But what about concerts?
While actors, comedians,
dancers and other performing
artists have transitioned many
of their live performances to
Zoom, sound delays, echoes
and slow internet can wreak
havoc on singers’ timing and
sound on the platform.

“If you hear people trying to
sing on Zoom, it’s a disaster,”
said Amy Eisen, member of the
Temple Beth Hillel – Beth El
Synagogue Chorale.

A popular option for virtual
JEWISH EXPONENT
choirs is having individual
members record their perfor-
mances at home. The recordings
can then be submitted to sound
editors, who compile them
into one video that mimics the
sound of a live choir perfor-
mance with the acoustics of a
synagogue. Shir KI and Temple
Beth Hillel – Beth El Synagogue
Chorale chose this approach for
High Holiday services since the
videos could be prepared well
in advance.

Tilman said it took about
three weeks for his choir, which
consists of 25 to 30 volunteer
singers and four professional
singers, to produce a recorded
performance of
Louis Lewandowski’s Psalm 150 for
Rosh Hashanah. After sending
singers click tracks — a series
of audio cues used to synchro-
nize audio tracks — Tillman
met with the sopranos, tenors,
altos and basses for section
rehearsals on Zoom. Once the
singers learned the piece, they
were given a tutorial about how
to record and send their audio
file and 10 days to submit their
parts on their own time.

“The end result was really
spectacular,” Tilman said.

Eisen and her fellow
singers recorded 12 songs for
Beth Hillel-Beth El’s High
Holiday services using
a similar technique. While some
members of the volunteer
Courtesy of David Tilman
choir chose not to participate
virtually, 13 were featured
in the videos. She said that
while singing alone seemed a
bit strange and the technology
appeared daunting at first, the
final product felt like a team
effort. “It was really thrilling,” she
said. Nashirah plans to perform
in two ways.

For Festival of Lights,
Zavadsky will play a prere-
corded video of the singers
performing in their homes.

During the new lecture series,
however, the singers will lives-
tream together on Zoom and
sing into muted microphones
while their prerecorded voices
are played for the audience. This
approach combines a real-time
communal presence with
high-quality sound that won’t
be disrupted by Zoom delays.

Zavadsky said
an unexpected result of the
pandemic was that Nashirah
welcomed back members who
were previously too busy to
practice or had moved away
from Philadelphia.

“Don’t forget, people are
isolated,” she said. “Being in
the choir, even in the way as we
are right now, is uplifting, so
our choir actually got bigger.” l
spanzer@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0729
OCTOBER 8, 2020
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