| Dr. Jonathan Hall Named Editor of Transcontinental Music Publications |
| NEW YORK, October 4--Jonathan Hall has been named the new editor of Transcontinental Music Publications, the official musical publishing operation of Reform Judaism in America. Hall's experience in Jewish music extends back a long time, to his days in Chicago, when he worked with a musically inspired congregation, Temple Shir Shalom ("Song of Peace") in the northwestern suburbs. He has had the good fortune of working with a number of excellent cantors, cantorial soloists, and rabbis, as well as many loving and supportive congregations. His superb talent, which has never lost its natural ear for melody and harmony to his academic training, has leapt joyfully to the lengthy task of mastering Jewish music. Jewish music is a rich and growing field of endeavor, and Hall, a classically trained concert organist (and Christian), is delighted to be on board full time! For the first time in over two decades, he does not hold a church position. However, he retains his many rich and satisfying links to the Christian sacred music scene, and to the world of classical organ music. He is a Fellow of the American Guild of Organists--the highest distinction possible in that organization--and is a key leader in the fast-growing Brooklyn Chapter. He is also a Fellow of Trinity College, London, and a member of the Association of Anglican Musicians and of New York's century-old Saint Wilfrid Club, open to the leading organists of the city and environs. He belongs to Pi Kappa Lambda, the national academic honor society for top-ranked achievers in music schools. He has performed throughout the USA and the world, and dedicated an organ in Moscow in January of 2005. Look for him to shape the voice, and face, of American sacred music for many years to come. |