“Tonight, Tonight” in West Hartford
Community concert offers an eclectic mix of musical genres
By Cindy Mindell

Longtime friends and collaborators Cantor Joseph Ness and soprano Talya Smilowitz reunite on Sunday, June 6 at 7 p.m. for “Tonight, Tonight,” the final concert of the season in Beth El Temple’s music series, now in its 18th year. The program is a mix of popular and classical selections by Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin, and Frederic Chopin.

Smilowitz, 27, grew up in West Hartford and started performing as a child in JCC community-theater productions and the Connecticut Children’s Choir. While studying flute at the Hartt School at the University of Hartford, she performed regularly at Beth El, where Ness became a mentor. Smilowitz went on to earn an undergraduate degree in vocal performance from the Juilliard School and a Masters degree from the Manhattan School of Music in vocal performance with a focus on opera and classical voice. She last sang at Beth El in 2008 to celebrate Israel’s 60th Independence Day.
Smilowitz serves as cantor at the Jewish Congregation of Brookville, N.Y. and performs and records throughout the tri-state area, including off-Broadway productions and musical theater. Her repertoire is broad, ranging from Hebrew, Ladino, and Yiddish music to Broadway show tunes, classical, folk, blues, and jazz. She is currently writing original pop-meets-Broadway compositions that she hopes to record by the end of the year.
Cantor Ness is conductor and artistic director at Beth El. “There’s nowhere else in the world that does this stuff,” he says of the eclectic mix of musical genres in each concert and the long list of leading cantors from all denominations who perform as soloists. “By combining genres, we can involve as many people as possible from the synagogue and the broader community.”
Ness writes orchestral arrangements for each concert and conducts a hand-picked orchestra of 50 to 60 musicians, as well as the Beth El Choir, which participates in many of the programs. The orchestra typically comprises one-quarter high-school and university students, each of whom is seated next to a professional musician. “This gives the students a real chance to learn and listen,” Ness says. “They develop a real respect.”
Ness will often pair Jewish music with classical music or musical theater, so as to raise the former to repertoire status. “In a concert setting, Jewish music can get thrown into the corner,” he says, but not when Russian cantorial selections are followed by Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2. “I don’t want merely to entertain,” he says, “but to challenge and educate.”
For the June 6 concert, Ness wanted to serve up light fare, highlighting the work of Leonard Bernstein with selections from “Candide,” “On the Town,” and “West Side Story” performed by Smilowitz and tenor Floyd Higgins. The program also includes George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” performed by pianist Paul Bisaccia, a Gershwin specialist. Award-winning Hartt School pianist, Patricia Guadagnoli, will perform Frederic Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, in honor of the composer’s 200th birthday.
Beth El Temple is located at 2626 Albany Ave. in West Hartford. The concert will be preceded by an optional dinner. For more information call (860) 233-9696 or visit www.bethelwesthartford.org

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