Cantor Erik Contzius, Composer, Baritone, Producer

Demonstrating deep love and commitment toward his field of endeavor, Cantor Erik Contzius’ unique sounds beautifully reflect his relationship with the Divine, which is clearly evident in his pulpit presence and original compositions. And while his passion for music ranges from Hazzanut (cantorial art music) to Yiddish folk songs, as well as Opera and Broadway melodies, Cantor Contzius is most at home on the pulpit leading prayer.

Cantor Contzius presently serves as the Cantor of Temple Israel of New Rochelle, and has served as Cantor at Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel of Elkins Park, Pennsylvania and Temple Israel of Omaha, Nebraska. He has also served as Composer-in-Residence at Temple Israel of Northern Westchester.

Directing all musical liturgies for synagogue worship, Cantor Contzius has composed original works for the synagogue, namely Hineh Ma Tov and Shalom Rav, which have been published by Transcontinental Music Publications, as well as a large self-published catalogue.  His composition, And Hannah Prayed, was recently selected to be performed in The Third International Festival of New Jewish Liturgical Music sponsored by Shalshelet.

His compositions and voice also appear on several recordings, including Teach My Lips a Blessing: The Music of Erik Contzius, recorded with the Amor Artis Chamber Choir, and a solo collection of Jewish art music for both cantor and pipe organ interpretations entitled, How Excellent is Thy Name.  He has appeared as a soloist on the recording Celebrate Chanukah with the Westminster Choir College’s Youth Chorale.

Cantor Contzius has performed in many distinguished solo presentations, most recently appearing with the Westchester Chorale under the baton of Maestro Daniel Paget in Handel’s Israel in Egypt. He has presented internationally, performing in a concert entitled “Vergessene Musik—The Forgotten Music of the German Jewish Reform Movement” in Münich, Germany. He has been heard at the Leo Baeck Institute in New York City two years consecutively, performing in their Jewish Vienna and Germany concerts. Cantor Contzius also appeared on the Millennium Stage of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., performing as a soloist in a special concert titled Let Freedom Sing. He was invited to perform at the International Organ Festival of Göteborg, Sweden where he led services at the Great Synagogue of Göteborg.  His vocal training is ongoing, having studied with Tom Lomonaco, Carlos Serrano, David Adams, and presently with Dr. Donald Roberts.

Raised in Parsippany, New Jersey, Cantor Contzius received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology at Rutgers College and then went on to study abroad at the University of York, England.  He received his Master of Sacred Music degree from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, School of Sacred Music, studying in Israel and New York City. He resides in New Rochelle, New York with his lovely wife Monica and his son Jacob.

Christopher Creaghan, Organist

Organist Christopher Creaghan is a frequent performer in the New York City region, appearing in a wide range of venues. As a recitalist he has performed at The Church of St. Mary the Virgin, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Princeton University, and has been a featured artist for Musica Viva, this year performing Rheinberger's Organ Concerto in F Major. He was part of the organ dedication series at the Irvington Presbyterian Church, performing the Poulenc Organ Concerto. He is included on the Brick Presbyterian Church podcast of Marcel Dupré’s Stations of the Cross. Formerly Associate Organist for The Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in New York City, he frequently appeared with orchestra on the Sacred Music in a Sacred Space concert series. For six years he served as Music Director and Organist for St. Joseph’s Church in Greenwich Village, where he produced a CD recording of the parish’s professional choir.

Mr. Creaghan is also in demand as an accompanist for large choral works such as the Duruflé Requiem, the Langlais Messe Solennelle and Mendelssohn’s oratorio St. Paul. He has performed with such groups as The Virgin Consort, The St. Cecilia Chorus, The Dessoff Choirs, the Berkshire Choral Festival, and the Bard Music Festival with the American Symphony Orchestra. He is organist on a new recording by the Marble Collegiate Church Choir featuring works by Leo Sowerby and Calvin Hampton. He has toured Eastern Europe with The Canticum Novum Singers. He accompanies frequently at a number of New York City churches including St. Bartholomew’s, St. Luke-in-the-Field, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian, Church of the Ascension, All Souls Unitarian, and The Interchurch Center.

Mr. Creaghan holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in organ performance from the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with McNeil Robinson. He was a finalist in the Fort Wayne National Competition and the Canadian National Competition, and has recorded for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He is Organist for Temple Israel of New Rochelle, is on the faculty of the Mannes College of Music in New York City, and recently concluded his term as Dean of the New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. A native of Canada, Mr. Creaghan became an American citizen in 2001. He is married to composer and mezzo-soprano Nancy Wertsch.

Amor Artis Chamber Choir

Amor Artis is a distinctive chorus and orchestra, featuring dynamically balanced programs of well-known favorites together with important works rarely heard. The ensemble has achieved considerable recognition internationally through its many concerts and extensive discography, encompassing more than forty recordings. One of the first and foremost presenters in New York of lesser-known Baroque masterpieces, Amor Artis has distinguished itself through authentic versions in style and setting, paving the way for the performances of these works given in the United States today. Audiences and critics have also hailed Amor Artis for musical excellence in all repertoires: from Dvorak’s Requiem, performed at Carnegie Hall, to its recording of Kurt Weill’s Violin Concerto, Kiddush, and Suite from the Threepenny Opera on compact disc. The AmorArtis Chorus and Orchestra have recorded for seven labels. Among more recent recordings are two discs for Newport Classics and the Vox Music Group; a recording of the Mozart Requiem with original instruments; a disc entitled Musica Dei, featuring choral music by Palestrina and Lassus; and a disc entitled Christmas Around the World, featuring favorite carols from many nations. About Musica Dei, the American Record Guide says that the listener will find on this disc “beautiful singing, superbly recorded.” Amor Artis is currently in residence at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament. In July 2006, the Amor Artis Chamber Choir participated in Mozart celebrations at the Cathedrals in Prague and in Vienna. And in November 2006, the Chamber Choir was the featured chorus at the American Society for Jewish Music's synagogue music conference, with performances both at New York's Park Avenue Synagogue and at Temple Emanu-El.

Johannes Somary, Conductor

Now in his forty-seventh season as Founder and Music Director of the Amor Artis Chorus and Orchestra, Johannes Somary has conducted such ensembles as the English Chamber Orchestra, the Irish Chamber Orchestra, the Polish Television and Radio Orchestra, the New Orleans Symphony, XXI Sajandi Orkester in Tallinn, Estonia, London’s Royal Philharmonic, and the Vienna Philharmonic. He has participated in many international music festivals ranging from Sion to Dubrovnik, from Madeira to Israel and Greece. His discography includes sixty recordings, four of which received Stereo Review “Record of the Year” Awards, and three of which were first recordings of Handel oratorios. Maestro Somary, born in Switzerland and a graduate of the Yale School of Music, has been active not only as a conductor but also as a composer, organist, and teacher. As a composer he was commissioned recently by the Jefferson Music Festival, the Blessed Sacrament Fathers, and the Benedictine Monastery of San Anselmo in Rome. His recently completed violin concerto was premiered and recorded in St. Petersburg, Russia in March 2004, and other works have been recorded on Premier, Leonarda and Albany. As an organist he has received critical acclaim for his recent recording of Handel organ concerti. And, as a teacher, he served for thirty-seven years as Chairman of the Arts at Horace Mann School. Since coming to New York in 1959, he has served as Choirmaster and Music Director in several churches, including the Cathedral of Saint Patrick. He is also in his thirty-second year as conductor of Connecticut’s Fairfield County Chorale.

Cantor Helene Reps, Mezzo-Soprano

Helene Shifrin Reps, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, graduated with highest honors from Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) with degrees in music and education. While a student at the School of Sacred Music of Hebrew Union College, she served congregations in White Plains and Rye, New York, and from 1980-1997 was the Cantor at Temple Israel of New Rochelle, where she now is Cantor Emerita. In 2004 Cantor Reps was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Sacred Music from Hebrew Union College.

Since her retirement from Temple Israel, she has enjoyed the opportunity to serve as guest Cantor for synagogues in Manhattan, Long Island, White Plains, Rye, and Scarsdale, New York.

Helene and her husband, David, are very proud parents of a beautiful family: with the birth of their latest granddaughter, the Reps family, children and grandchildren now number 18!

Cantor Hayley Kobilinsky, Soprano

Cantor Kobilinsky, is a native of Brooklyn, New York and was raised in Oceanside, New York. She began singing opera professionally two decades ago at the age of 10. Since 1988, Cantor Kobilinsky has appeared in over 30 operas and operettas and dozens of concerts, in roles such as Micaela in Bizet’s Carmen, Gretel in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, Cunegonde in Bernstein’s Candide, Venus in Blow’s Venus and Adonis, Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and Barbarina in Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro. She is a resident artist at the Regina Opera Company, singing in their full productions, gala anniversary concerts and international music concerts. Hayley has performed in the United States, Canada, and Israel, and has been a featured soloist with the One World Symphony, the Westchester Oratorio Society, the South Shore Philharmonic of New York, the New York Symphonic Arts Ensemble, the Lehman Symphony and Opera of the Hamptons.

Cantor Kobilinsky debuted at Carnegie Hall at Weill Recital Hall in 1994, and has since appeared in recital at the Merkin Concert Hall in New York City. She was awarded the “New Young Artist” prize of the Opera of the Hamptons.

Cantor Kobilinsky received her Baccalaureate degree from Columbia University and studied in the Vocal Arts program at the Juilliard School of Music. She subsequently received a Master’s of Sacred Music and Investiture as a Cantor from the Hebrew Union College’s School of Sacred Music. Hayley currently serves as Cantor of Congregation B’nai Yisrael of Armonk, New York.

The Kol Simkha Youth Choir

Kol Simkha (“The Voice of Happiness”) is the youth choir of Temple Israel of New Rochelle. Under the direction of Cantor Erik Contzius, Kol Simkha sings at the Family Services at Temple Israel of New Rochelle for Shabbat and Holy Days. Kol Simkha has also been heard numerous times on radio station WVOX and WVIP in the greater New Rochelle area. Featured soloists on this recording are: Samantha Spiegel, Max Abrams, Emma Kravitz, Jacob Weingast, and Melissa Chananie.

Jacob Meiner, Tenor

Jacob Meiner is a gifted young singer, whose talents have been shared both on the stage and the pulpit. He has had the lead roles in such plays as Seussical: The Musical and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. At Temple Israel of New Rochelle, he has sung many solos for the High Holy Days and the radio audience of WVOX and WVIP. Mr. Meiner is presently a vocal student at the Performing and Visual Arts Education (PAVE) program at New Rochelle High School.

Jon Altschiller, Recording Engineer

A veteran of New York City’s recording studios and mixing rooms, Jon Altschiller saw the need for a boutique studio to deliver high quality sound. In 2001 ‘Chiller Sound opened its doors.

Altschiller has recorded and/or mixed everything from pop stars (Mandy Moore, Ben Folds Five, John Mayer, Simon and Garfunkel) to jam band kings (Phish, Dave Matthews Band, Warren Haynes). He has mixed national TV comercials (Boars Head, Pepsi, CVS) and mastered music for video games (Grand Theft Auto, Midnight club 2).

Altschiller has also entered the film business, mixing music for the closing film credits in both Shrek 2 (Joseph Arthur’s, You’re So True) and Fantastic 4 (Joss Stone’s Whatever Happened to the Heroes).

‘Chiller Sound has now entered the world of 5.1 surround mixing and in a short time has been part of many exceptional music sessions. Altschiller has mixed tracks in stereo and surround for The Best of the Jammys DVD’s and multiple Jammys television broadcasts, including a surround broadcast for HDNet. He has also partnered with Three On A Tree Productions to complete the final soundtrack mix for the Foo Fighters 2006 DVD release, Skin and Bones.

“If you want to do anything well, it is imperative that you enjoy the process,” Altschiller says. “Being an engineer is not about the glory. It’s about having the respect of the artists and the people around you.”