Music & Prayer

Music, as Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel taught, provides the catalyst for connecting the disparate elements of the finely woven tapestry of the fixed words of liturgy (keva) and kavanah, our deepest, truest intentions to reach and serve God. At North Shore Congregation Israel, we search for ways to fill both keva with kavanah. We explore the possibility that music can function in many ways, including:

1) Praising God

2) Providing a deeper understanding of our sacred texts

3) Resonating with our community 

4) Linking us to our history

5) Connecting us to our coreligionists around the world

6) Allowing us to explore the awesome nature of God

7) Creating moments of introspection 

8) Deepening our relationships within our families

Here at NSCI you will find music infused into every aspect of our community’s life. We invite you to join us on a sacred journey with music as our vehicle. Click HERE to listen to an archive audio of Cantor Benjamin Landsman, NSCI's first cantor. 

Upcoming Music Events

There will be a light dinner for those attending Shabbat services before the concerts. Post Kabbalat Shabbat Concerts are generously sponsored by: Jim Stone, Madeleine & Harvey Plonsker, and Bobby Takiff. We are grateful to the following additional concert supporters: Penny Berman & Dr. Aron Mosnaim, Lois & Ron Davis, Cynthia Raskin, and Barbara & Victor Weisskopf.

• Post Kabbalat Shabbat Concert - “A Night at the Movies”
  Christopher Powell with The Chicago Brass Ensemble
  Friday, December 5th, 8:00 pm in Perlman Sanctuary
   

  Christopher Powell, a Juilliard School–trained organist and one of NSCI’s in-house musicians, studied organ performance with Grammy Award–winning organist Paul Jacobs. He is the recipient of silver and bronze medals in composition from the Global Music Awards competition and we are excited to have him perform in a solo concert.*

   

  * This concert is specially sponsored by The Chicago Federation of Musicians.

Music Groups with Cantor Wolman

Holy Chanters

Learn to chant our sacred texts with Cantor Wolman, who blends ancient texts with contemporary analysis. The meeting times are shared with registered participants.

 
Shir Chadash

Join Cantor Wolman at NSCI and meet friends who love to sing. Shir Chadash, our adult choir, enhances our worship experience and helps create sacred moments during Shabbat, celebrations and commemorations! Our repertoire balances tradition and contemporary melodies. Please contact Sarah Duffin, Executive Assistant to the Clergy, here to join. 

past Music Events

To view recordings of previous music events, visit our YouTube channel.

Meet our Staff

Alan Goodis is a national touring Jewish musician playing over 150 events a year. Born and raised in Toronto, Alan is a proud product of URJ Goldman Union Camp Institute. Noted for his dedication to building relationships and community through music, Alan travels throughout North America to serve as an artist-in-residence and performer at temples, youth conventions, and Jewish summer camps. Alan and his music have become a fixture at North Shore Congregation Israel and other congregations, URJ camps, and youth events from coast to coast. Alan lives in Chicago with his wife, Codi, and their dog Wally.

Christopher Powell is a Juilliard School–trained organist and serves as the Director of Sacred Music and the organist at the National Shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe at Marytown in Libertyville, IL. He is also North Shore Congregation Israel's new organist. Christopher studied organ performance with Grammy Award–winning organist Paul Jacobs. He has also performed in master classes and lessons with Alan Morrison, Ken Cowan, Wilma Jensen, Cameron Carpenter, and Stephen Roberts. Christopher is the recipient of silver and bronze medals in composition from the Global Music Awards competition. His work ranges from opera and chamber music to functional liturgical music. When not at the organ, Christopher enjoys painting, bike rides, and gigging with his wife, Demi, as house entertainers for Cellar 26 restaurant in Green Oaks, IL.

Gregory Shifrin is a world-renowned pianist and a graduate of the Jerusalem Academy of Music in Israel. He moved to Chicago in 2005. He is a collaborative pianist for Glenbrook South High School, New Trier High School, Music Institute of Chicago Chorale, the Unitarian Church of Evanston, and the Chicago Youth Choral Theater. Performing in a piano duo with Irina Kotlyar, they won the 7th Murray Dranoff International Two Piano Competition in Miami, Florida (1999) and the 1st International Two Piano Competition in Poland (1999), and they were among the three finalists of the 49th International competition of the ARD in Munich, Germany (2000). Gregory lives in Vernon Hills with his wife, Kira, and two sons, Itamar and Ariel.