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Rachelle Nelson of Temple Beth Am does everything that
a Cantor does and more.
Rachelle Nelson
Nelson released her first CD, Bless Our Days, in
collaboration with Rabbi Terry Bookman in 1998. She composed the
music, sang and played piano to Bookman's text to create a CD that
crosses religious boundaries.
"Our music isn't meant for any one
religion," Nelson said. "It is about healing and giving
thanks to God."
Not only did they produce the CD, but they also
created their own publishing company, In The Spirit Music
Incorporated, to distribute the CD to synagogues across the country.
They eventually would like to distribute the music to schools and
churches.
"We have a wonderful gift and rather than just
sharing it with our congregation alone, we want to share it with
everyone," Nelson explained.
The message of transcending religious boundaries with
music was illustrated last month when, under the direction of Dr.
Robert Heath, the choir of Plymouth Congregational Church in Coconut
Grove sang the music of Nelson and Bookman.
Nelson also is actively involved in preparing the Bar
and Bat Mtzvah students of Temple Beth Am. When students of Beth Am
are in sixth grade, Nelson teaches a course on how to chant from the
Torah. Four weeks before eachbar and bat-mitzvah, she consults with
the students to polish their work. This year she will work with 90 of
126 bar and bat-mitzvah students.
In addition to her work with students, Nelson visits
hospitals, sings at weddings and funerals and is involved in creative
programming for the temple. She is the director of the music series
Shir Chaddash -- meaning sing a new song -- which holds free concerts
three times a year after Friday night services.
"The best thing for me is on a Friday night or at
graduation, when they stand up and sing the music that the rabbi and I
have written and composed," Nelson said when asked to describe
the best part about her work. "Seeing the children of the
synagogue sing my music, I can't think of a greater feeling."
Nelson, a native Miamian, grew up in a musical family.
"A typical Friday night in my home was the family
gathering around the piano after Shabbat dinner, singing songs in both
Yiddish and English," she recalled.
Nelson attended Miami Beach High School and the
University of Miami, where she completed a double major in music
education and composition. Throughout high school and college she was
involved with Jewish music. In her high school years, she played
guitar and taught at Temple Beth Shalom, then worked as the cantorial
soloist at Temple Israel of Greater Miami during college.
In her third year at UM, Nelson learned that women
were allowed into the reform movement of the cantorate. In New York,
she attended The School of Sacred Music at Hebrew Union College, where
she was able to use all of her music and composition skills.
"It was absolutely the right place for me to
be," Nelson explained, "like the shoe that fits."
After graduating from cantorial school, Nelson worked
at Temple Israel for nine years and then Temple Beth Am, where has
been for the last eight years. She is the mother of two daughters and,
when asked about her work as a cantor, her daughter Leah expressed
everyone's feelings.
"My mom is a great cantor!" said Leah.
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