Jewish Songwriter

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**Jewish Songwriter**

Jewish Songwriter is a podcast hosted by Sheldon Low featuring interviews of well-known and up-and-coming Jewish songwriters. If you’d be interested in a weekly supply of new music, want a behind-the-scenes look at some of your favorite artists, or want to learn more about what it takes to write a new Jewish song, you’ll enjoy listening to these candid and casual conversations. The music featured on the podcast is also readily available on the Jewish Songwriter Spotify playlist and the Jewish Songwriter YouTube Channel so even if you don’t get a chance to listen to the interview that week, you can cue up the playlist and listen to each new featured song as it gets updated.Go and subscribe to the Jewish Songwriter Playlist here: https://jewishsongwriter.com/jewish-songwriter-playlistHappy listening!

Latest Episodes:

**2.2 | Ellen Allard - "How Good"** Apr 15, 2019
Show notes

Season 2 of Jewish Songwriter opens with my good friend, Ellen Allard who talks about her song "How Good" and her journey from classical concert pianist to Jewish Songwriter.

As always, you can listen to all of the compositions from this season on the Jewish Songwriter Playlist on YouTube and Spotify.

Ellen Allard is an award-winning recording artist, music educator, composer, performer, and music coach, and one of the most influential musicians on today’s Jewish music scene. With a strong commitment to building community through music, Ellen has a unique, charismatic, charming, and heartwarming way of encouraging audiences to join together in playful singing, whether she is performing a concert, presenting a workshop, conducting a choir, or leading Tot Shabbat, religious school Wow Worship, or an adult worship service.

Ellen holds a BA in music from Boston University and a Master’s in education from Arcadia University. She is a certified holistic health coach, baby/toddler yoga teacher, Kidding Around Yoga and Yoga Yeladim teacher, and a certified Rhythm ‘n’ Ruach Jewish family/kid’s music class teacher.

She lives in Boston, MA and has two daughters and sons-in-law who have blessed her with five grandchildren and two rather large dogs. If asked, she will extoll the virtues of drinking green smoothies and eating dark chocolate daily.

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This week's episode was brought to you by Bandzoogle which makes it easy to build a stunning website for your music in minutes. Click here to try it free for 30 days and get 15% off the first year of your subscription.

**2.1 | Debbie Friedman Stories - Bonus Episode** Apr 08, 2019
Show notes

As always, you can listen to all of the compositions from this season on the Jewish Songwriter YouTube Playlist or Spotify Playlist. And please subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, GooglePlay or wherever you listen.

If you are familiar at all with North American Jewish music, it should come as no surprise, that as with almost any conversation about or with Jewish Songwriters, one name repeatedly comes up in conversation, without whom, probably none of us Jewish songwriters would be here today. And that name, of course, belongs to the one and only Debbie Friedman.

Debbie Friedman is considered by many to be the mother of contemporary Jewish music. If her name isn’t familiar to you, but you’ve entered a Temple, synagogue, or shul in the last half century, there’s a high likelihood you’ve heard her music. Though Debbie passed away in 2011, it just doesn’t make any sense to not have an episode of Jewish Songwriter dedicated to her. Professionally speaking, I’m not sure there’s anyone in history who’s had a bigger impact on Jewish music.

Many of my guests spoke about how Debbie’s music impacted or changed the course of their lives. But what I love about the two stories I’ll be sharing with you today, and what they reveal, is that Debbie’s vision and impact stretch far beyond her music. They are not the only stories I was told and I’m sure they won’t be the last but you will hear them unedited exactly as they were told me. I hope you’ll enjoy listening to them as much as I did.

**1.10 | Peri Smilow - "The Priestly Blessing"** May 20, 2018
Show notes

Hailing from New Jersey, this week's Jewish songwriter, Peri Smilow shares "The Priestly Blessing" and how she found her way to Jewish music after a difficult period working with troubled teens. Special thanks to the URJ and Bruce Raden for their onsite recording and technical help with this week's episode.

As always, you can listen to all of the compositions from this season on the Jewish Songwriter YouTube Playlist or Spotify Playlist.

Peri Smilow is an internationally recognized contemporary Jewish music performer and composer. For over 25 years Peri has brought new, inspiring and social justice infused music to the Reform Movement in the US, Canada, England, Singapore and Israel. She has recorded four albums of original music and produced an album of new social justice anthems to benefit the Religious Action Center (Together as One). Known for her interfaith work, Peri created The Freedom Music Project, an 18-voice choir of young black and Jewish men and women singing the freedom music of their traditions. In addition to her work in music, Peri holds a Masters in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She has worked as a Cantorial soloist, community educator, organizer and non-profit administrator and enjoyed a brief career in professional theater. Peri currently serves as Director of Program and Engagement with ARZA (the Association of Reform Zionists of America). She shares her life with daughter Allie and former Reform Movement song leader and husband Budd Mishkin.

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This week's episode was brought to you by Bandzoogle which makes it easy to build a stunning website for your music in minutes. Click here to try it free for 30 days and get 15% off the first year of your subscription.

**1.9 | Josh Warshawsky - "El Baruch (The Blessing One)"** May 14, 2018
Show notes

This week, Chicago born Jewish Songwriter Josh Warshawsky chats about his song "El Baruch (The Blessing One)."

As always, you can listen to all of the compositions from this season on the Jewish Songwriter YouTube Playlist or Spotify Playlist.

Josh Warshawsky is a songleader and songwriter, currently studying in rabbinical school in LA. Josh spends his weekends and summers in residency teaching and sharing music and Tefillah at synagogues and camps across the country. He has two albums, which can be found on iTunes, and is now recording a third. You can hear his songs "Mah Rabu" and "V'ahavta at camps and synagogues across the country.

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This week's episode was brought to you by Bandzoogle which makes it easy to build a stunning website for your music in minutes. Click here to try it free for 30 days and get 15% off the first year of your subscription.

**1.8 | Stacy Beyer - "Good Trouble"** May 07, 2018
Show notes

This week's guest is Nashville, TN based songwriter Stacy Beyer who shares about her song "Good Trouble" which was inspired in part by Congressman John Lewis.

As always, you can listen to all of the compositions from this season on the Jewish Songwriter YouTube Playlist or Spotify Playlist.

Stacy is a producer, composer, singer, musician, arranger and conductor. She’s written for film, tv and the recording industry. Once a staff writer for EMI Publishing, Stacy had a #1 in Australia. Songs from her 4 cds of original Jewish music have found their way into congregations around the world, and have been performed by the Nashville Symphony. Stacy is also an activist/lobbyist. Inspired by this work she’s created even more new music, and performed her song 'She Has the Right’ for the United Nations, and 'Good Trouble’ to close the Women’s March, in Nashville this past January. Most recently Stacy co-produced a cd of 8 new social justice songs, entitled ‘Together As One’. She is also the co-founder of the Facebook, live streamed music venue, Harmony In Unison, with nearly 17 thousand members.

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This week's episode was brought to you by Bandzoogle which makes it easy to build a stunning website for your music in minutes. Click here to try it free for 30 days and get 15% off the first year of your subscription.

1.6 | Shira Kline - "The Sun Shines Down On Every One" Apr 22, 2018

Show notes

This week, I'm happy to welcome ritual leader and Jewish songwriter, Shira Kline, and we talk about her song "The Sun Shines Down On Every One" which she co-wrote with Lee "Free" Frisari and Avi Fox-Rosen.

Recognized as a “revolutionary educator” and named one of the “new re-engineers of Jewish life,” Shira Kline plays worldwide as a performance and ritual artist. She specializes in creative musical worship with adults and children's spirituality. Her work is in the garden of life: activating imagination, expression, and heart opening. On Shira’s tours, she performs in communities of all ages throughout the United States and stages in Israel, England, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. She also presents extensively across the denominational spectrum for clergy, educators and lay leaders, and is adjunct faculty for the HUC-JIR Debbie Friedman School for Sacred Music. Shira is a co-founder of Lab/Shul NYC, an artist driven, God-optional experimental community for sacred Jewish gathering where she is the Director of Worship. Her award winning ShirLaLa Jewish kiddie rock albums along with her parent and teacher resource center, “Blog Sameach,” are featured worldwide.

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**1.5 | Noah Aronson - "Anneini"** Apr 16, 2018
Show notes

My guest this week, NYC based Jewish Songwriter Noah Aronson talks about his song "Anneini."

After earning a degree in Jazz Composition and Piano from Berklee College of Music, he held the position of Composer-in-Residence at Temple Beth Elohim in Wellesley, MA where he produced 4 albums of Jewish communal music with his mentor Cantor Jodi Sufrin.

As a solo musician, Noah has released three full-length albums and songbooks entitled 'Am I Awake,' 'Left Side of the Page,' and his latest 'More Love' including his 4 member all Israeli-Berklee alumni band. Music from these albums are now sung in progressive communities and summer camps worldwide and has been included as part of the Cantorial curriculum at the Hebrew Union College's Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music in New York City.

Renowned for his unique and engaging style of prayer leadership, he had the distinct honor of leading over 5,000 people in Shabbat worship at the 2013 URJ Biennial in San Diego, CA.

Noah serves on the faculty of the annual Hava Nashira and Shabbat Shira workshops in Oconomowoc, WI and the Shirei Chaggiah workshop in London, England.

In 2015, Noah partnered with Behrman House, the largest distributor of Jewish educational materials, to create an innovative, music-based curriculum entitled Hebrew in Harmony. His music has also been featured on two compilations from the PJ Library series.

Noah lives in New York City and is currently serving as the Creative Director of Sacred Music NY, a non-profit organization that organizes concerts and events around New York City bringing together spiritual musicians from diverse backgrounds to inspire interfaith dialogue and social change.

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1.3 | Josh Nelson - "Avadim Hayinu / Wade In the Water" Apr 02, 2018

Show notes

On this week's episode of Jewish Songwriter, Josh Nelson shares about his powerful new medley of "Avadim Hayinu" and "Wade In The Water."

One of the most popular performers and composers in modern Jewish music, Josh Nelson brings his extraordinary message of hope, unity and spirituality to concert stages and worship services across the globe. Josh is a gifted multi-instrumentalist and songwriter whose work is celebrated and integrated into the repertoire of congregations, camps and communities around the world. His music builds community, lifting up congregations and concert audiences alike through experiences that are at once energizing and deeply moving.

A classically trained musician who is equally versed in rock, jazz and world music, Josh combines his broad range of influences into a breathtaking musical style that is accessible to audiences of all ages and backgrounds. He was recently hailed by Time Magazine as a “star of the New Jewish Music.”

Josh lives in Brooklyn, NY with his two children and a goldfish named Dorothy.

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