When Rabbi Joey Wolf moved to Portland in the late 1980s, Portland’s synagogues were known as “The Big Three” – Beth Israel (Reform), Neveh Shalom (Conservative) and Shaarie Torah (traditional). But there was an emerging fourth, Havurah Shalom, which hired Rabbi Joey in 1987. Over the last 30 years, Rabbi Joey has shepherded HS through…
If you grew up in a Reform or Conservative synagogue in North America and you are over a certain age, chances are your shul had a choir. Choral music was an integral part of Reform and Conservative worship for much of the 20th century. Most synagogues had a congregational choir; some also boasted youth choirs…
Concert performers often become associated with a particular piece of music; this bond grows from their natural affinity for the work, or a particular facility for interpreting it. When Mona Golabek was a young concert pianist at the beginning of her career, she connected in a particularly personal way to Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in…
Classical music has had a difficult time shedding the widely held perception that it is stuffy and pompous. Judging solely from visuals, this assessment is understandable; after all, what other art form requires its practitioners to wear white ties and tails when they perform? But this viewpoint is outdated, and no better proof is required…
Exhibit compassionately explores struggles of Israelis and Palestinians In 2010, award-winning poet and activist Frances Payne Adler became alarmed by news reports of Israeli settlers in the West Bank throwing stones not only at their Palestinian neighbors, but also at IDF soldiers, whose job it was to safeguard the Palestinians. “I have been concerned about…
Asked what it meant to receive the 2015 American Poetry Review/Honickman First Book Prize for her manuscript, Divinity School, Portlander Alicia Jo Rabins was unequivocal: “I feel like I won the lottery. There were over 800 submissions.” In the world of poetry, this prize represents a hugely prestigious honor, one that includes the publication and…
It’s hard to be Jewish in Portland during the month of December, especially when you’re looking for a family-friendly evening of seasonal entertainment. While some Jewish-oriented performances exist – like Jewish Theatre Collaborative’s “Hanukkah and the Power of Light” – more often than not Jewish families must settle for the usual December shows such as…
The atrocities of the Holocaust are well documented in memoirs, literature, feature films, documentaries, oral histories of survivors produced by the Shoah Project, music and the staggering paper trail left by the Nazis themselves, which describes in chilling detail the methodologies used and outcomes achieved in their attempts to implement the “Final Solution.” Perhaps less…
For the past 40 years, the Jewish Community Orchestra has combined standard classical fare with works by Jewish composers, or works relating to Jewish themes and historical events. On Sunday, June 14, the orchestra continues this tradition with a performance of Anton Rubinstein’s Cello Concerto in A minor, featuring soloist Diane Chaplin, at the Mittleman…
Portland has a reputation for the vibrancy and diversity of its dance scene, and fans of contemporary dance in particular have long known something Portland’s Jewish community may be only just now discovering: Israel is a hotbed of bold, innovative and critically acclaimed contemporary dance. What’s more, you don’t have to travel to Israel to…
