Music at TI
Music — in addition to Jewish cuisine — is the soul of our community. We embrace the importance of music in Jewish life and believe that it elevates prayer by providing its own language of hope and holiness during worship.
Our goal is to incorporate a diverse mix of cross-cultural, religious, secular, traditional, and contemporary Jewish music into our services. We often feature members of the congregation on guitar, piano, flute, ukulele, and other instruments, and on other occasions, we feature local or world-renowned Jewish artists, bands, and special guests such as Rick Recht, Robbi Sherwin of Sababa, Shira Klein a.k.a ShirLaLa, and more.
Some of our regular musicians are:
Rob Aronson
Rob Aronson is a Jewish singer/songwriter who loves to share his passion for Judaism through his music. Rob grew up at Congregation Temple Israel and since 2006 has been actively involved in bringing the joy of Jewish music to worship services.
Chavurat Shira
Chavurat Shira started as a group of friends (chavurah) who wanted to sing (shir) together, and is comprised of volunteer members of our community, all of whom bring both beautiful voices and an understanding of what it means to truly pray at Temple Israel. The choir is led by Roberta Stein and accompanied by pianist Daniel Vizer.
Ruach Band
The Ruach band is comprised of guitarist/vocalist Rob Aronson, vocalist Julie Aronson, cellist/bassist Jordan Mandel and pianist/percussionist Chris Rowton. The band has been leading joyous musical monthly Shabbat services for the congregation since 2013.
"Miss Megan" Sturdevant
Miss Megan has served as Music Teacher at Temple Israel’s Deutsch Early Childhood Center since 2011 and is a beloved song leader and performer in our Temple community. She leads Tot Shabbats and shares musical content online on TI’s social media for all kids and their families to enjoy.
Dan Vizer
Dan Vizer holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in piano performance from SIUE, where he studied with the concert pianist, Ruth Slenczynska. He studied organ with Donald MacDonald and William Partridge. He has appeared on television and radio programs, has given many solo and ensemble performances, and is a recipient of the Ruth Slenczynska Piano Award for Chamber Music.
Interested in getting involved with choosing or playing music during worship services? Reach out to Rabbi Amy at afeder@ti-stl.org or 314-432-8050.
