The band performing on Dec. 18 at SummerWood in West Hartford.

For their bar/bat mitzvah projects, 11 Hartford area children joined forces to share the joy of music. The soon-to-be-teens, representing several different West Hartford synagogues formed a band and have been practicing together once a week since August. They recently started performing at area synagogues and community centers — like Hoffman SummerWood, where they performed on Dec. 18.

CAP: Members of the bar/bat mitzvah band: (front row, l to r) Josh Azia, Joel Harris, Lena Madonick, Sophia Friedman, Mira Goldstein; (back row, l to r) Sam Foxman, Jared Maidman, Ethan Harris, Jake Ludgin, Simon Rosenberg, and Avi Goldstein.