ACC News

ACC E-note #165: Voting for ACC Executive Board Positions

March 18, 2016

Having circulated the slate of candidates to the membership and solicited additional nominations, in accordance with Article 1, Section 2 of our Bylaws, the Nominations Committee of the ACC is pleased now to open the 2016 Executive Board voting process to all Regular Members in good standing with the ACC. Ballots must be electronically dated/postmarked no later than April 18, 2016.

This year's vote will be taken electronically. Please click to access the ballot. If you are unable to use the link, try pasting the link address into your browser window:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ACC2016EB 

If you are still unable to access the poll, please contact the ACC Office directly at 847-781-7800 or memberservices@accantors.org, and we will mail you a paper ballot to complete. You may only submit one ballot, either paper or electronic.

Please take the time to vote for candidates from your region as well as the at-large category. If you do not know which ACC region you are in, please consult the ACC Membership Directory page.
Below you will find the full list of candidates for election this year, for a term from 2016-2019. Through the link, you will be directed to cast votes for those individuals who are candidates from your region as well as for those who are at-large candidates. 

New slate of Executive Board Members for Election in 2016:

At-Large: Barbara Ostfeld
At-Large: Linda Ecker
At-Large: David Frommer
At-Large: Jamie Marx
South: Alicia Stillman
At-Large: Todd Kipnis
Central: Jennifer Frost
At-Large: Randall Schloss
At-Large: David Berger

Please use the following link to access the electronic polling tool:
 
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ACC2016EB
 
Please remember that although those slated are running unopposed, it is important for all members of the Conference to vote.
 
Thank you for your diligence.
 
On behalf of the Nominations Committee: Cantors Jonathan Grant (chair), Wendy Autenrieth (South), Josee Wolff (East), Jordan Franzel (East), Jeff Klepper (East), Ross Wolman (West), David Rosen (Board), and Steven Weiss (Ex-officio).

Biographies:
Cantor Barbara Ostfeld is history's first official woman cantor. She was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, School of Sacred Music (HUC-JIR, SSM) in June of 1975. From September of 2002 through August of 2012, Cantor Ostfeld was the Placement Director of the American Conference of Cantors (ACC). She served Temple Beth Am of Buffalo, NY (now Shir Shalom) from 1990 through 2002. From 1976 through 1988, she served Temple Beth-El of Great Neck as cantor. In June of 2015, Ostfeld was recognized by the ACC for forty years of spiritual and cantorial leadership. In March of 2000, as she marked 25 years of congregational service, Ostfeld received an honorary Doctor of Music degree from HUC-JIR. In June of 2000, she received the Shaliach Tzibbur Award from the ACC "in recognition of Distinguished and Outstanding Service to Judaism and the Cantorate".

Ostfeld wrote an essay, The Ascent of the Woman Cantor, which has been included in Rabbi Elyse Goldstein's book, New Jewish Feminism, published by Jewish Lights.

Cantor Linda Ecker has been a proud member of the ACC since 1998. She has been co-chair of two national conventions - Los Angeles and Portland. She has served on the national board for 8 years - six of those years as Treasurer.   She has served on two ACC strategic planning committees.   She has worked for the past two years on the planning committee for the Southwest Regional ACC/GTM/CA mid-winter retreat.   In her community, she sits on the Women's Philanthropy -Jewish Federation and Family Services board as well as the Hadassah board.   Linda is a past recipient of the ACC Presidential Award for Volunteerism and looks forward to continued involvement with the American Conference of Cantors.

Cantor David Frommer grew up in Manhattan and graduated from high school in Kentucky. He received his B.A. in History with Honors from Yale University and sang with Magevet, Yale's Jewish A Cappella Group, performing across the US and internationally in Canada, Europe and the UK. After college, David volunteered for fifteen months as a combat soldier in the Nachal Infantry Division of the Israel Defense Forces, where he served with distinction in the West Bank. During the next five years he pursued his cantorial studies at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion's Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music and trained as a chaplain with the New York Army National Guard. Following his ordination in 2011, David deployed overseas as the first-ever cantor to serve as a chaplain in the US military, providing religious support for Jewish soldiers and civilians stationed in Afghanistan, Kuwait, Jordan and Qatar. He is currently the cantor at Congregation Shomrei Torah in Santa Rosa and lives in San Francisco.

Cantor Jamie Marx is honored to serve as the cantor of Temple Sholom in Broomall, PA. A composer and songwriter, Cantor Marx founded the Composers Showcase at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, an annual concert featuring original liturgical works by students, faculty, and alumni, now in its eighth year. He is actively working on new compositions for two albums, one of Jewish pop-rock and the other Jewish liturgical hard rock/pop-punk. Cantor Marx received his Master's in Sacred Music in May 2010 and his cantorial ordination in May 2011, both from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. He earned a BA in Music from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, in 2003. He is married to Anna and is the proud father of Eliana and Isaac.

Cantor Alicia Stillman is proud to serve as the Cantor of beautiful Temple Judea.  A native New Yorker, Alicia received her training and was ordained in 2013 at the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. She has a background in theater and music, having attended Brandeis University and performing in New York theatre, national tours, and regional theater, before life as a child-birth advocate and doula. During her studies she served as Intern at Central Synagogue in New York City, and was a Sarah Starr Leadership Fellow through HUC. While serving at Temple Judea she has performed with the Palm Beach Pops and in several concerts in South Florida. She lives in Palm Beach Gardens, FL with her husband Phillip and two sons, Ben and Coby. Come visit!

Cantor Todd Kipnis is the senior cantor at Temple Shaaray Tefila in New York City, where he has served since he was ordained from HUC-JIR in 2007.  He joined the ACC board in 2013, and has been involved in a variety of areas for the ACC.  Todd has been a representative on the Joint Commission of Worship, Music and Religious Living since 2010.  He served as chair of the ACC's youth committee, is currently on the Strengthening Congregations committee, and was a member of the search committee for the new Professional Development Coordinator position.  In 2010, Todd had the honor of participating in the ACC cantorial concert at the Vatican to promote Catholic-Jewish relations.  Prior to entering the cantorate, he performed numerous leading and supporting roles with the Tri-Cities Opera and also performed with Central City Opera and Lyric Opera of Cleveland. In his downtime, Todd loves spending time with his family, going to the opera and the theatre, and watching sports.

Cantor Jennifer Frost began her tenure at BJBE in July 2006 after several years of service as the Associate Cantor at Rodeph Sholom in New York City. She was born in Chicago and was raised in Los Angeles where she fostered her love of Jewish music under the direction of Cantor Nathan Lam at Steven S. Wise Temple and ultimately led to a Master's Degree in Sacred Music and Cantorial Ordination from HUC-JIR. She is proud to represent the ACC on two URJ commissions: the Commission on Worship Music and Religious Living and the Campaign for Youth Engagement.  Cantor Frost has performed and recorded with Danny Maseng and has been a part of his theatrical performance, Soul on Fire.  Having recorded both Soul on Fire and Labor of Love, the group has toured throughout the United States. Cantor Frost is married to Rabbi Richard Prass and lives in Deerfield with their three children, Lyla, Ruth, and David.

After a varied career in music as a classical singer and as a choral conductor and music director, Cantor Randall Schloss began his journey into the world of Jewish music in 1998 as a singer and composer. Since 2007, he has been Cantor at Temple Ohabei Shalom in Brookline, MA, where he creates an environment of engaging, participatory worship through a rich blend of musical traditions, including his own compositions. Cantor Schloss was ordained at the School of Sacred Music at HUC-JIR in New York. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music from Cornell University and a Master of Music Degree in Vocal Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music. He is on the faculty of the Hebrew College School of Jewish Music; is Co-Chair of the 2016 ACC/CCAR Hava T'filah; was Co-Chair of the 2011 ACC/GTM Boston Convention; has served on the Advisory Board of the Boston Jewish Music Festival; and was Vice President of the New England Board of Cantors. In his spare time, he has been known to run the Boston and New York Marathons. Most of all, Cantor Schloss shares his love of Judaism and music with his wife, soprano Leah Schloss, and their two daughters, Maya and Sonya (also sopranos!).

Cantor David Berger serves as cantor of KAM Isaiah Israel Congregation in Chicago, IL and is also enrolled in the PhD program at the Chicago Theological Seminary.  He holds a BA in Religion from the University of Illinois, an MA in Jewish Philosophy from the Jewish Theological Seminary, and his MSM and cantorial ordination from HUC-JIR.  He currently serves the ACC as the co-chair of the Committee for Continuing Professional Development.  Sought after as a teacher and performer, David strives to promulgate an expansive vision of synagogue music reaching deep into world Jewish musics of all kinds for inspiration and exploration.