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MARK KULA
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Cantor Mark Kula brings more than just his beautiful singing voice
to the Beth Shalom Congregation.
Growing up in New York, Kula was exposed to a great deal of Jewish
music because his father was a cantor. And, because of his
experiences, Kula decided that he, too, wanted to become a cantor and
help make the world a better place.
Kula chants and sings for services every Friday night and Saturday
morning, as well as sometimes for services during the week. But, the
job doesn't end there. Kula also is very involved with teaching.
"I take it upon myself as a major goal to teach other people
to lead services and to be on their own," he said
Kula teaches an adult education program called Stand By The Cantor.
And, when Kula performs the services, congregants stand by and follow
along. Finally, after enough practice and training, the congregants
can lead services themselves.
 Kula also
prepares the bar and bat-mitzvah students, teaching them singing, the
Hebrew language, the various parts of the service and even helping
them write their prayers and speeches. The students come to him for
six months of individual weekly lessons. Six months prior, the
students meet in a group class.
Kula also supervises the music teachers at the Beth Shalom Early
Childhood Center and at the Hebrew School.
"One of the greatest parts about being a cantor is
teaching," said Kula. "I enjoy working with people and the
music is great. I love being involved in Jewish music and getting
people to sing."
Kula also is involved with Jewish music as the coordinator of the
synagogue's concert series.
"We bring in different artists from around the country,"
he said. "Some are well known and some are just starting out.
They each bring out a different kind of connection to Jewish music.
There are a lot of different kinds of Jewish music out there."
One concert in the series is a cantorial offering featuring Kula
and other cantors in the area.
Beyond music, Kula maintains a strong involvement with the
congregation's Tikon Olam Committee. Tikon Olam means repairing the
world. The committee is involved with many projects from collecting
school supplies and clothing to donating books to an English book
library in northern Israel. The committee has participated in
adopt-a-city in Russia programs and helps establish Russian immigrants
in the U.S.
The committee has collected medical supplies for South American
countries and regions of the world going through difficult times. And,
for countries experiencing natural disasters such as the hurricane
that struck Central America last year and the earthquake that ravaged
Turkey -- the committee sent countless supplies.
Kula is further involved in synagogue activities, leading an adult
choir and a children's choir at Beth Shalom. The adult choir sings for
High Holiday services, while the children's group sings for High
Holidays, Chanukah and other holiday programs throughout the year. The
children have also performed at Barnes and Nobles and in nursing
homes.
Members of the congregation sing with Kula during services as duets
and trios throughout the year, and two members of the congregation
sing with him in a barbershop quartet style.
"People enjoy things like that, they connect," said Kula.
"I think part of my role as a cantor is to create relationships
for people to be able to connect to their musical heritage, to connect
to the meaningfulness of Judaism, to connect to who they are and to
empower them to make the world a better place."
Kula studied at New York's Colombia University and the Jewish
Theological Seminary, earning his undergraduate degree in Talmud. He
continued his education at the seminary, earning his graduate degree
in cantorial studies. He has been a cantor at Temple Beth Am for 10
years..
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