Meredith Stone has served as Cantor of Congregation Emanu-El of Westchester in Rye, New York for more than 30 years. Among her contributions to the congregation are many creative initiatives in worship, a vibrant women’s study group, and years of innovative musical programming. She is an accomplished soprano with a broad range of professional credits. She graduated from Brown University, holds 2 Master’s degrees in music, and received an honorary doctorate from Hebrew Union College. She and her husband live in New York City and have 2 wonderful daughters now in college. She loves immersing herself in creative endeavors, especially making art, and hopes to one day get beyond Wednesday in the New York Times crossword puzzle.
JoAnne: In writing the blog on Sisters I found I had some questions and I reached out to Meredith to ask if she had any information to share. What follows are my questions, her answers and her reflections on being a part of the collaboration of Sisters.
JoAnne: We used quite a few poems in the piece. Do you know where we found them?
Meredith: Sadly, all I recall about the poems is that you and I went on a big scavenger hunt looking for anything related to Rachel and Leah. Which was more challenging but perhaps more rewarding than today when you can find so much online without any effort at all.
JoAnne: Opening vocalise is by Ron Nelson. What do we know about him?
Meredith: Ron was a composer and beloved teacher of music theory at Brown University where he taught for many years. As a music major, I took several classes with him. (He made music theory feel relevant: I remember one day he played us a Stevie Wonder recording then went to the piano and analyzed all the chords for us.) A terrific guy. Looks like he’s now 89 and living out west.
JoAnne: There is a piece we used called Rachel m’vakoh al Boneho. Any information about this one?
Meredith: Yes, this is a classic piece of Chazzanut “Rachel weeps for her children” by David Roitman.
Meredith continues sharing her thoughts about participating in Sisters:
As a young child my dreams of becoming a ballerina were shattered when I realized I’d never get to appear in The Nutcracker (which I saw every year) at the Boston Ballet since I didn’t study in their prep program. But the real reason is that châiné turns made me dizzy and I couldn’t stand getting sweaty. Singing required far less exertion!
I had always loved dance and was excited when JoAnne approached me with the opportunity to collaborate with Avodah. I was intrigued by the idea of exploring together the complex relationship between siblings, especially sisters, and enjoyed tracking down music and poetry that could enrich the piece. I couldn’t have been more honored to appear onstage as a “dancer” Ha! JoAnne was great about integrating me into the group and making me look like I was one of them, sort of!
I loved combining different aspects of artistic expression with dance – singing, Hebrew chant, instrumental music, spoken word.
I also enjoyed seeing the creative process unfold. I had had no idea that dancers helped choreograph pieces, experimenting with different ways of moving, actively participating in the development of the work. I was more accustomed to the world of opera in which you were expected to interpret a musical score and follow the stage director. The dancers were so integral to the process, motivated, intelligent and fun! We had such a good time when we travelled. I recall we even participated at an American Conference of Cantors convention in Florida when we were asked to create a worship service in movement and dance.
Rehearsing in Chinatown had some nice side benefits – really cheap noodles at Bo Ky on the corner of Mulberry and Bayard, and great buys on exotic vegetables and cool knock-offs along Canal Street.
Looking back, the unique opportunity of working with JoAnne and Avodah gave me so much- igniting my creativity, which I’ve cultivated ever since and which has sustained me through my last 30 years in the cantorate.
Thank you, Avodah. Thank you, JoAnne!
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