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Bet Am Shalom's Cantor Benjie Schiller to Give Recital

When: Sunday, May 18
Where: Bet Am Shalom Synagogue, 295 Soundview Avenue, White Plains, New York

Cantor Benjie SchillerCantor Benjie SchillerCantor Benjie Ellen Schiller, cantor of Bet Am Shalom synagogue in White Plains, NY, will give a rare recital performance on Sunday, May 18.

The program, “Life Song Cycle - A musical reflection on the journey of our lives,” will include her own compositions and works of other Jewish composers. A dessert reception will follow the concert. Admission is $36 for adults and $18 for students and children under eighteen.

Cantor Schiller serves as cantor alongside her husband, Rabbi Lester Bronstein, at Bet Am Shalom Synagogue, a Reconstructionist congregation. They sing together in Beged Kefet, a philanthropic Jewish music ensemble.

Cantor Schiller is a nationally known composer. Her works include: "Halleluhu," a multi rhythmic choral piece; "Zeh Dodi," an art song for voice and piano; "Uk'ratem D'ror - Proclaim Liberty," a cantata dedicated to the disaster of 9/11; and various commissioned works for synagogues and choral ensembles. "A World Fulfilled," a solo recording of her compositions, was released in 2002.

When Benjie Ellen Schiller graduated from Boston University with a degree in musical performance, she planned to continue her studies in classical music, perhaps studying opera or composition. After living in Israel for a year with her husband as he began his rabbinical studies, she came to New York, ready to continue her musical path. When completing her first vocal audition in New York City, even though she was well received by the judges, she knew that the world of musical performance was not the world in which she wanted to dedicate her life's work.

As a composer, she felt particularly drawn to Jewish music and she decided to enroll in the cantorial program of Hebrew Union College School of Sacred Music. Today, 24 years later, she serves there as Professor of Cantorial Arts. She is also on the faculty of the cantorial program at the Institute for Jewish Spirituality.

For reservations, contact Bet Am Shalom Synagogue at 914-946-8851 or betamshalom@betamshalom.org.