The inspiring festival generated by the European Cantors Association, celebrating the Music of Jewish Prayer, is back! January 31st - June 27th 2026
 

The inspiring festival generated by the European Cantors Association, celebrating the Music of Jewish Prayer, is back from January to June 2026 

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Two synagogues are participating in May, and there is a special concert.
 

2nd May : Birmingham Singer's Hill
Chazan, Michael Rowe, with choir

16th May: Central United Synagogue

Chazan Steven Leas and Choir

 

And New London Synagogue is putting on a concert on Tuesday 26 May entitled ‘An Evening in Celebration of Cantor George Rothschild, who was cantor at New London for 35 years, and who passed away in March this year.  There is no charge, but you must register with the synagogue beforehand.  The service features Cantors Paul Heller and Yoav Oved and a special appearance by veteran Cantor Moshe Dubiner.
 

​The full list of services organised so far in the 'From Our Lips' festival (updated 26th April) is:

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​​​​​​​​​​​To be part of the six-month ECA ‘From Our Lips …’ National Festival of synagogue music which runs to the end of June, just choose a date and book your shul in for your own festival service or even a concert by emailing Geraldine@cantors.eu .
 

There are no special requirements other than that you present what your community loves best for its music of Jewish prayer.  Every shul can take part, large or small, to show you care about the music for your community.

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1. All participating synagogues made sure their congregants knew that there would be a musical service and which composition or traditional tunes they would be singing for which prayers. It was surprising how similar the repertoire was in all strands of Jewish worship.
    

2. The music in Orthodox, Masorti, Independent and Reform synagogues all embraced the big-name 19th century liturgical composers of Lewandowsky (Berlin), Sulzer (Vienna) Mombach (London). The influence of the ubiquitous ‘Blue Book’ a compendium of choral and cantorial music from 1899, was still paramount in all strands, creating a strong sense of belonging and satisfaction. 
    

3. There was also some popular innovation in each synagogue service with particular favourites of more modern music (some composed in-house by their resident choirmasters or composers) that are also enjoyed by the communities.
    

4. It was striking how a good strong and confident voice from the bimah galvanised the congregation and created a real buzz in the synagogue.
    

5. A sensitive choir and choirmaster lea the congregation in song creating a rich atmosphere.
    

6. I was surprised at how attentive the congregation of Mill Hill United Synagogue was – and then realised that they had all been asked to request what their guest cantor and resident choir would sing. There had been many suggestions. They were sitting on the edge of their seats hoping that their choice had made the cut! 
    

7. What was a revelation to congregants, was that often for the very first time, synagogue managements and prayer leaders told their members which tunes were being sung, either in emails in advance, or with a helpful handout for each congregant on the day, or actually telling them from the bimah who composed the music for a particular prayer and when. They had been ignorant before that, and they found this information engaging. 
    

8. Often the prayer leader was invited to the bimah to talk about music and the Rabbi also engaged with the music of Jewish prayer in his sermon, informing the congregation about the music they were singing.  
    

9. I was most surprised that many synagogues seem to think that this is an annual event and are already planning what they will do next year for music in their synagogue, to build on this years’ experience.

Read the full report here

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