On Wednesday, November 16th, NHS Hazak presented Cantor Alane “Lanie” Katzew, Director of Pastoral Care at Cedar Village Retirement Community, in “From Bimah to Broadway”. She was accompanied by pianist Claire Lee. Everyone enjoyed a kosher buffet lunch of pasta, salad and dessert before the musical program.
Alane “Lanie” Katzew currently serves as the Director of Pastoral Care at Cedar Village Retirement Community in Mason, OH. Cantor Katzew has always been fascinated by the deep connections between music and the spirit. Where words will sometimes fail, music has the unique capacity to penetrate where words fail. Along with her role as Spiritual leader at Cedar Village, teaching, and making pastoral visits with residents, she has introduced the “Music and Memory” program at Cedar Village, a unique program that provides ipods with personalized music playlists that are used to help patients with dementia access musical memories.
Over the span of her career, Cantor Alane S. Katzew has helped bring Jewish sacred music into the digital age. Katzew served as Director of Music Programming for synagogues throughout North America, as a congregational cantor, and on the American Conference of Cantors board. She’s produced publications, recordings, and concerts at the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), serving over 900 congregations as their Worship & Music Specialist. Among her myriad recordings and songbooks, she produced and uploaded digital recordings of the entire Torah and Haftarah. She’s proudly introduced adults and young people to Jewish sacred music, part of her lifelong commitment to Judaism, community service, and social justice.
Claire Lee is a graduate of UC’s College-Conservatory of Music with a Master of Music degree in Piano Accompanying. She is a free-lance accompanist and entertainer and accompanies the Broadway series of student concerts at Hebrew Union College, where for many years she was the organist. Lee plays flute in the UC Community Summer Band and the New Horizons Band, and keyboards for the New Horizons Dixieland Band and the Queen City Klezmorim. At Northern Hills Synagogue she directs the High Holiday choir and is a member of the Kabbalat Shabbat instrumental ensemble.
HaZaK, which stands for Hokhma (wisdom), Zikna (maturity) and Kadima (forward), is a 55+ group that is open to the community. Monthly luncheons and programs take place at Northern Hills Synagogue on the third Wednesday of the month from September through June.
Bobbi Handwerger, Elaine Hordes and Carol Hershenson. |
Claire Lee and Cantor Alane Katzew recited HaMotzi, the blessing over bread.
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The lunch included pasta and salad. |
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Sarah Barnard led the recitation of Birkat HaMazon, blessings after the meal. |
People singing the Birkat HaMazon. |
Sandy Richards signed up for a fundraiser event with Carol Hershenson. |
Amy Healey-Callahan, our wonderful chef, Brian Freedman and Norm Nevins. |
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Elaine Hordes introduced our soloists. |
Cantor Alane Katzew and Claire Lee. |
Alane and Claire performed ten songs, ranging from "Reb Dovidle" in Yiddish
to the late Leonard Cohen's "Halleluyah". |
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Bobbi Handwerger thanked Claire and Alane and gave them gifts. |
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Alane encouraged everyone to donate to her special program, "Music and Memory" at Cedar Village. Alane uses music to nudge the memories of
patients in the Memory Unit of the care facility. |
