Milwaukeean Wendy Cohen has a passion for instilling a love of Judaism in children and working to ensure that “the Jewish heritage continues l’dor v dor, from generation to generation,” she told The Chronicle in a telephone interview last week.
Selected by the Coalition for Jewish Learning as its 2008 “Educator of the Year,” Cohen has worked as a music teacher for the last six years at Gan Ami Beginnings, Preschool and Kindergarten in the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center.
Prior to that she served as a music specialist in the Harold & Terry Nash JCC Family & Parenting Center for two years before that.
Cohen has also been employed as the music specialist for the religious school at Congregation Shalom for some 15 years. There she leads the music portion of the children’s services among other things.
In addition, Cohen periodically leads the Friday morning Shabbat Sing at the Milwaukee Jewish Day School, which her children attend.
She will receive the award at the Day of Discovery on Sunday, Jan. 18, at the JCC.
In a recent telephone interview, Cohen said that she was born and raised in Milwaukee in a family that sang and played musical instruments together.
“My parents enjoyed singing and my sister played the flute, my brother played the guitar and I started playing the piano when I was five,” Cohen said.
Today, Cohen, her husband Marc Cohen, the executive director of Congregation Shalom, and their children Carley, 12, and Zac, 7, also enjoy making music together.
After graduating from John Marshall High School and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Cohen worked at several accounting and title firms. But since she has had children, she said, she has been blessed with opportunities to do what she has always wanted to do — teach children and make music.
Inspired by her mother who worked in the Milwaukee Public School System, Cohen has always “enjoyed children and watching what they do.”
It’s a wonderful time to be involved in Jewish music, Cohen said, because there is an exciting combination of traditional music and a huge variety of new music-making taking place.
The opportunity in today’s world to sing the same words in many different musical styles “connects us and makes us a people” and it also makes teaching Jewish music an exhilarating adventure, she said.
CJL, in announcing its Cohen’s selection for this award noted that her “passion for teaching through Jewish music and her endless patience and love of children helps connect the next generation of children to their faith.”
CJL is the education program of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.
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