A music series across decades: Cantor David Barash has been running and growing an annual music series for 25 years 

Cantors David Barash and Perry Fine, friends who sang together in one of the Salute to Song and Spirit concerts.

 

Cantor David Barash has spent 25 years building a musical tradition that has become one of Congregation Emanu-El B’ne Jeshurun’s most beloved — and most successful — fundraisers. 

What began as an experiment has grown into the “Salute to Song and Spirit,” a long-running concert series that has netted nearly $1 million for the congregation while drawing audiences with an ever-changing mix of styles, guest artists and themes. 

Barash brought the idea with him from Beth Shalom in Kansas City, Missouri, where he helped start a similar concert series in the 1990s. When he arrived in Milwaukee in 2001, he pitched the concept to synagogue leaders. 

“There was a little skepticism at first,” he recalled. “Is this going to break even? Kind of taking a chance.” 

The first concert was held at Vogel Hall, a professional venue with full lights and sound. Barash invited close colleagues, including his longtime friend and fellow cantor, Perry Fine, along with performers such as Nancy Ginsberg and Ken Gould, for a “cantor’s cabaret” that mixed Jewish liturgical music with cabaret and other genres. 

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The event was a hit. Even after expenses, the concert netted an estimated $12,000 to $17,000. That early success persuaded the congregation that the series could both inspire and sustain. 

Over time, the concerts moved through a variety of venues as the congregation navigated the sale of its former building to the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and the construction of the new sanctuary in River Hills. Performances have taken place at Vogel Hall, the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center and smaller recital halls at UW–Milwaukee before finally settling into the synagogue’s own space around 2010. 

The series has featured a wide range of musical voices and traditions: Sephardic music, Broadway, opera, Yiddish songs and contemporary Jewish worship music. Guest artists have included well-known Jewish performers such as Craig Taubman and Josh Nelson, as well as the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band and other ensembles. 

Taubman’s appearance in 2006, during the congregation’s 150th anniversary year, was a turning point, Barash suggested. Taubman’s “Friday Night Live” style and a commissioned piece, “Lo Alecha,” helped anchor a high-profile celebration that reflected the series’ growing ambition. 

The concerts continued through the COVID-19 pandemic, when Barash and collaborators pivoted to online performances. Working with video engineer Scott Finch, they stitched together individual recordings from multiple locations into seamless virtual concerts, sometimes appearing on screen as if performers were sharing the same living room. 

Despite its financial impact, Barash said the fundraiser aspect is not what drives him. 

“I love that it brings people together,” he said. “There are so many different facets of music that we can present to the congregation — from cabaret to Moroccan music to Yiddish to bringing in guest artists. And I think people look forward to the fact there’s something different every time.” 

The 25th anniversary “Silver” celebration is designed as a capstone, bringing back many of the artists and elements that defined prior years. Barash plans to include longtime collaborators, the synagogue’s youth and adult choirs and a house band that has grown out of the series. It will be held May 31 at Emanu-El. For more information, visit ceebj.org/salute. 

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