DATE: Thursday, April 3, 1997               TAG: 9704010136

SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS         PAGE: 05   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: STAFF REPORT 

                                            LENGTH:   51 lines

CONCERT TO FEATURE 3 CANTORS

The 12th annual Gomley Chesed Cantorial Concert is set for 7:30 p.m. April 13 at the synagogue, 3110 Sterling Point Drive, in Portsmouth.

A program of popular, operatic and liturgical music will be presented by three cantors, accompanied by Winston Dan Vogel, former director of the Virginia Symphony.

The singers will include Paula Victor, soprano, of Harrisburg, Pa.; and Gadi Elon, lyrical baritone, of New Rochelle, N.Y., formerly of Israel.

Gomley Chesed Rabbi Philip S. Krohn, a baritone, also will perform.

A balladeer, folk singer and actor, Elon is the cantor at Hillcrest Jewish Center in Queens, N.Y.

Elon studied at Yeshivat Kfar near Natanya, Israel. While he was in the Israeli army, he entertained in a theater troupe and was in the rabbinical choir. His singing reflects the changing moods of Israel, its past and its present. Over the years, he has performed in nightclubs, Jewish centers, synagogues and hotels, and has been featured performer at Hadassah conventions.

In Las Vegas, he has appeared as the opening act for Alan King and performed with Theodore Bikel and Myron Cohen.

Victor has served as cantor at Beth El Temple in Harrisonburg since 1993. A native of Rochester, N.Y., she began vocal training at the Eastman School of Music. She subsequently attended New York University, where she was active in theater productions and received a degree in music history. After living in Israel and performing with the National Chamber Choir of Israel in Rinat, she returned to the United States to work on the historic restoration of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. She received a master's degree in sacred music and a Diploma of Hazzan.

Victor has sung in concerts in the United States, most recently in Washington, D.C., and has been a featured performer at Cantors Assembly of America conventions.

Rabbi Krohn, the son and grandson of rabbis, began his cantorial career as a child. He later received a master's degree from the School of Sacred Music and studied with Cantor Maurice Gantchoff before becoming cantor at Temple Emanuel and Brith Israel in Philadelphia. He has written a children's cantorial service used by congregations throughout the United States.

Vogel is a native of Israel. He served as music director of the Israel National Opera, the Haifa Symphony Orchestra, Jerusalem Opera and Israel Philharmonic Choir before coming to the Virginia Symphony podium.

An accomplished pianist, he received a bachelor's degree from Juilliard School of Music in New York and a master's degree from Ball State University in Indiana. He currently works in Europe.

Tickets for the concert are $10 and may be purchased in advance at the synagogue or at the door before the program. For information, call 484-1019.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu