New cantor at Marlboro temple starts at High Holidays

Cantor Rick Lawrence will continue the Temple Rodeph Torah tradition of bringing music to the bima as cantor of the Marlboro temple starting with the High Holiday services in September.

Lawrence joins Rabbi Donald Weber and Rabbinic Associate Shira Stern as the Rodeph Torah clergy. He replaces Joanna Alexander, who is now cantor at Temple Israel in Omaha, Neb.

“Music is a form of the spiritual,’’ Lawrence says. It brings people together by providing a chance to learn about “the prayers of our life’’ for both the congregation and the cantor. “It’s a two-way street,’’ he says.

Lawrence will bring his commitment to creative music to the services, combining contemporary tunes with traditional melodies. At times, he adapts tunes from Broadway, movies, even Disney for children, to help explain what a prayer is all about. This approach is nothing new, the cantor says. As long as there’s been popular music, Jews have found ways to incorporate those melodies into worship.

The congregation will be involved in this process, both in singing and active listening. Lawrence composes melodies that take congregants to the time and place: a Shabbat service. He plays the keyboard and will incorporate the guitar and drums into the service. He will be assisting Rodeph Torah’s Adult Choir in its part during the High Holidays.

Lawrence has been a cantor since 2014. He joins Rodeph Torah from Temple Emanu El in Orange, Ohio, outside Cleveland. He says “music has been in my blood since I was tiny.’’ He grew up in Ann Arbor, Mich. His parents sang Kingston Trio duets on their first date. When his sister became 8, she joined her parents in singing Peter, Paul & Mary duets. When Lawrence turned 8, the family sang barbershop quartets. “We still sing together to this day,’’ he says.

He traces his decision to combine Jewish studies and music to a summer job as assistant music director at Star Island off the coast of Portsmouth, N.H. He was asked to lead music for a Unitarian Shabbat service. Afterward, a guest told him his “entire face lit up’’ while singing. That convinced him that he had a cantorial future. He received his bachelor’s degree in Jewish studies from Oberlin College. He received his cantorial ordination and master’s degree in Jewish education from Hebrew College.

Lawrence says he was drawn to Rodeph Torah because “people seem to care. ’’ He calls it the practice of “informed Judaism.’’ This includes doing good deeds for the community, learning at all ages, a deepening commitment to Judaism through self-education, and knowing what’s out there.

He lives in West Philadelphia with his wife, Meredith. She is a second-year pediatric resident at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

"Cantor Rick's music and commitment to Judaism are vital contributions to our temple and the communities we serve,'' said Tmima Grinvald, president of Rodeph Torah. "And it all starts with the High Holidays."