Cantor Robin Anne Joseph is an exceptional musician, dedicated educator, and gifted playwright and director who runs the theatrical production company, GoJo Clan Productions, with her husband Albi Gorn. Now in her fortyfourth year as Cantor at Temple Beth Shalom Robin has had the privilege of helping to shape and enrich the religious and spiritual lives of several generations worth of that community’ s citizens. Her legacy at Temple Beth Shalom in Hastings-on-Hudson, N. Y. will live on for years and years to come.
CANTOR ROBIN ANNE JOSEPH P’ nei Torah Faculty Award
My journey with AJR began in 1992 when I enrolled in its nascent cantorial school. My now-colleague, Cantor Dick Botton, had been teaching there and encouraged me to apply.“ They started a cantorial school just a few years ago,” he said.“ You should interview.”
At the time, I had already been serving as a cantor at Temple Beth Shalom in Hastingson-Hudson for several years. Did I really need cantorial school? Perhaps not. But did I need AJR? Definitely. This quirky school, then housed in just a few rooms at the Society for the Advancement of Judaism, gave me the chance to study with some of the most gifted cantors and rabbis of our time alongside one of the most heimishe student bodies anywhere. My years there weren ' t just about honing my craft; they were about growing within a community that truly held each other up.
In the years since, I have remained deeply connected to AJR, serving on admissions committees and task forces, and as an officer on the Board of the Association of Rabbis and Cantors. When I was invited to join the faculty in 2015, I jumped at the chance to continue investing in the success and well-being of a community that had invested so much in me. I am honored by the trust AJR has placed in me and grateful for this recognition of one of my most cherished roles: teacher.
Robin is a graduate of SUNY Purchase with a B. A. in Dramatic Literature and was ordained as a cantor by the Academy for Jewish Religion( AJR) in 1996, just two years after she won the American Zionist Movement’ s first annual song competition. It was her " Im Eshkacheich " that took that prize and her compositions are now published by Transcontinenal Music Publications and Oy Songs.
Along the way Robin became president of several cantorial organizations and helped to solidify the Women’ s Cantor Network, an important organization that does so much in the cantorial world. Her involvement in Kol Hazzanim, the Westchester Community of Cantors, as well as her commitment to the Westchester Resettlement Coalition, a faith-based organization of local congregations committed to supporting and resettling immigrants and refugees securely in their new homes are but two examples of her priorities and passions.
In the Spring of 2015 Robin began her tenure as AJR’ s cantillation teacher. A serious student in the art of knowing the correct motifs for each of the many cantillation systems, as well as the grammatical nuances that accompany those systems and their variations, Robin has been the guiding force for yet another generation of cantorial students. She is exacting and kind, all at the same time, and is completely generous with her time and deep knowledge. The decision to name her as this year’ s P’ nei Torah Award recipient was obvious and richly deserved. Cantor Robin Anne Joseph is a teacher of distinction and merit while being a treasured colleague.
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