Music, prayer and community: Cantors Assembly makes Pittsburgh debut

There’s a sweet new note in the Cantors Assembly history. For the first time in 79 years, the organization representing professional Jewish clergy will meet in Pittsburgh next month.

Bringing the party to western Pennsylvania is Rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey Myers, president of the Cantors Assembly, and rabbi and hazzan at Tree of Life Congregation. The organization typically meets for an annual convention in its president’s locale.

With nearly 200 cantors coming to town for the June 7-11 conference, Myers is eager to show off the city and his crew.

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“Pittsburgh embraced me in the nearly nine years that I’ve been here, and I thought that one of the best ways to say thank you is to offer the gift of the music of the Cantors Assembly to all of Pittsburgh,” he said.

Myers pointed to two programs showcasing both local venues and the vocal visitors.

On June 8 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Paul Cathedral, the Cantors Assembly and the Diocese of the City of Pittsburgh will collaborate on “Psalm Enchanted Evening.” On June 9 at 7 p.m. at Beit Kulanu in Shadyside, members of the Cantors Assembly will deliver “Jewish Notes in America’s 250-year Song.”

Both performances, as well as study sessions and meetups for visiting cantors, pay homage to a familiar theme.

Titled, “Repairing the World One Bridge at a Time,” the annual convention is an opportunity to gain “exposure to new music” and share innovative “programming ideas that each of us is doing,” Myers said. Even so, “we try not to monopolize everyone’s time.”

Myers said the schedule was designed to deliver professional development as well as opportunities to experience the city, and hopes attendees will make the most of what Pittsburgh has to offer.

Whether cantors stop by a local museum or simply speak with community members, time in Pittsburgh is instructive, Myers said. “There are ways to take some of what I really think distinguishes Pittsburgh from so many other cities and perhaps bring elements of that back to their own cities.”

The upcoming conference marks the halfway point in Myers’ two-year presidency. Having spent a year observing the cantorial landscape, the Pittsburgh-based spiritual leader said he’s learned much: “It continues to be challenging to be Jewish — and how much more so for rabbis and cantors — as the landscape  continues to evolve and face unprecedented challenges that I think none of us have previously experienced in our lives.”

“The outburst of antisemitism, which really reached the start of a fevered strength beginning Oct. 7, 2023, has just continued unabated, and American Jews are for the most part unaccustomed to experiencing that. You’d have to go back to the Jews who lived in Nazi Germany to see a comparable type of experience,” he continued. “When you’re experiencing antisemitism to this degree, and you’ve never experienced it, we don’t necessarily have all the tools in our toolbox to manage it, and I think it makes it even more imperative of the clergy in our communities to be able to help our congregants each navigate the external threats that they’re experiencing.”

Weeks after the upcoming convention, Myers will leave his post at Tree of Life Congregation. Though retiring from pulpit life, he’ll continue his role with the Cantors Assembly. What that brings, though, is yet to be determined.

“I’m still working on getting all that I need to get done here,” he said. “I  haven’t turned the page to that chapter yet, it’s blank paper right now, so that’s going to be one to try to just think about and figure out along the way.”

What Myers is certain of, however, is the cantorial quality coming to Pittsburgh.

The 200 professionals arriving here from across the globe represent “some of the most talented, amazing people on this planet,” he said. “What an honor, privilege, it is to be their president.” PJC

Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.