The Bowdoin Chorus, Cantor Scott Sokol and Mozart Mentors Orchestra, conducted by Anthony Antolini, will perform Ernest Bloch’s Sacred Service (Avodath Hakodesh) in Hebrew Sunday, May 5, at 3 PM and Monday, May 6 at 7:30 PM at Studzinski Recital Hall on the campus of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. The concerts honor the victims of Tree of Life last October in Pittsburgh and Congregation Chabad on April 27 in Poway, California. The event is free and there are no tickets required.
Ernest Bloch was born in Switzerland in 1880 and died in Oregon in 1959. The Sacred Service dates from 1930-1933. It was composed on commission from Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco. The work is scored for baritone solo, chorus and orchestra. It is based on the liturgy for the Sabbath Morning from the Reform Jewish Prayer Book.
Cantor Scott Sokol, baritone soloist, is a multi-professional, having pursued successful careers as a cantor, rabbi and neuropsychologist. A former clinician and professor of neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Sokol is a board certified pediatric neuropsychologist. He has also served as Dean of the School of Jewish Music and Professor of Jewish Special Education at Hebrew College. He is an accomplished violist and singer. He has been a featured soloist on several recordings with the Zamir Chorale of Boston. He is also co-founder of Koleinu: The Jewish Community Chorus of Boston and Sheminiyah, a professional octet of cantors. He is also co-conductor of the Boston chapter of HaZimir: The International Jewish Teen Choir. He currently serves on the executive council of the Cantors Assembly of America, and is the former editor of The Journal of Synagogue Music. He holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Brandeis University, master’s and doctoral degrees in Cognitive Neuropsychology from Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Sacred Music degree from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.