Why a website? Well, I felt that this would make it easier for me to share information and resources related to three aspects of my life: Music (Tremble Clefs), Community (Vilna Shul) and Connection (Genealogy).
Music has always been a big part of my life. I graduated from Cornell University, where I studied music and voice performance, and then had a successful career as a professional singer/pianist/arranger. Once I moved to Boston, I went on to receive a Masters in Music Education from New England Conservatory of Music. While raising my children, I developed a music curriculum for the Rashi School. Over the years, I have been a soloist at Temple Beth Elohim in Wellesley , and I also led the Family Services at TBE for ten years.
Since 2009, I have been the musical director of the Tremble Clefs, a chorus for Parkinson’s patients and their caregivers. You can read more about it how it all began and my involvement on the Parkinson’s pages on this website. I derive much satisfaction and inspiration from my weekly rehearsals with the Tremble Clefs. The program is growing by leaps and bounds and all are welcome.
At around the same time, I became really interested in genealogy research. Being a musician, I had the requisite skills of patience, perseverance and attention to detail, so it is perhaps not surprising that I have become obsessed with helping others find their roots. You can read more about it on my Genealogy pages. I have 2500 people in my own family file, and traveled to Poland in 2010 to visit my ancestral towns, and recently returned to Poland and Lithuania on the Vilna Shul Mission.
My interest in genealogy intensified when I joined the board of the Vilna Shul/Boston’s Center for Jewish Culture. History becomes so much more relevant when you have a personal connection. Looking at the Hebrew names of the Vilna’s founders on its historic walls, I was curious about their immigrant stories and set out to find their descendants. It’s the same story, whether you are from New Jersey or Boston! I founded the Vilna Shul Genealogical Project, and found 500 living descendants of the founders of the Vilna, most of whom had no idea that their ancestors were founders of the Vilna.
I believe that it is important to know our history as we strive to create community and live meaningful lives. We are all links in the chain. The complete restoration of the Vilna is a priority for me; we are taking a nationally important landmark and turning it into a thriving community and cultural center.
I hope you will find this website interesting, informative, and helpful. Thanks for visiting!