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Cantor Deborah Katchko-Gray

Spirited and Soulful

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Cantors and Covid. A New Fall Phobia

September 26, 2020

Cantor Debbie. Cantors and CovidThis morning I went out for a walk, eagerly anticipating the joy on my grand dog’s face as I call his name from outside his window and see his unbridled excitement. I’m very lucky one of my sons lives 7 houses away from me. However, this morning, something was different; there was a chill in the air, that fresh cold air that has been missing all summer. This morning I could feel a distinct change in the temperature. This change in the air, commonly known as Fall or Autumn can bring on the most beautiful feelings, memories, hopes and dreams. AHH, fall leaves will be arriving; the colors will be magnificent! Pumpkins, apples, warm cider, it is so wonderful! That is what most people feel, however cantors get a different feeling, and this year it is really, really different!

Cantors feel the first chill of autumn and get a nervous knot in the stomach; oh my God, the High Holydays will be upon us! I have to prepare my music, my choir, my musicians, have meetings with the rabbi, most of all stay healthy! Watch out for fall allergies, don’t catch a cold, get the acid reflux under control, don’t talk so much, limit dairy, start resting your voice and drinking water! That’s what the last 41 years were like for me. This year is different. Cantors have to worry about being “super spreaders”, for the first time in our lives, singing is perceived as dangerous, it could spread Covid and be disastrous. How can we sing and pray this year and feel authentic?

Many cantors are pre- recording the music, some are doing it live by Zoom or live streaming with only clergy present, some with a very small congregation socially distanced, some doing outdoor services hoping for good weather. Some are using a hybrid mix of prerecorded, live, streamed and in person all together. If previous years brought on anxiety about singing for the High Holydays, this year is truly unique and a challenge.

I am pre -recording everything in a revered recording studio ( Carriage House Studios) in Stamford, CT where Beyoncé, Paul Simon and Diana Ross have recorded. I’m hoping some of those excellent musical vibes will somehow flow into my Avinu Malkeinu and Kol Nidre prayers. I’m so fortunate to have wonderful musicians to work with and a very compassionate and brilliant rabbi .For the first time I’ll be using a few tracks from my CD’s including a Kol Nidre my father sang with me harmonizing ala Natalie Cole. I am so excited to share his masterful cantorial voice with my congregation.

This year I’ll be sitting at home, zooming in to the service, watching my prerecorded videos with a surreal feeling; it will be the most unusual experience. Maybe this year I will have the luxury of praying without any fear or anxiety of “ performance” or vocal health concerns. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise and I will be totally immersed in the prayers and in my thoughts; joining the Jewish community all around the world and praying for a good New Year. I think I may like it, but I’m going to pray we go back to a full healthy congregation next year with some of the advantages of live streaming included. Next year may we take the best of this year’s innovations and sing together as one community. When the cool air returns next year may we just be super spreaders of beautiful music and prayers!

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Recipient of the first Debbie Friedman Miriam Award

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Cantor Deborah Katchko-Gray
Congregation Shir Shalom
46 Peaceable Street
Ridgefield, CT 06877
203-438-5609 (study)
203-482-1726 (cell)

Testimonials

Your Wonderful CDs

I received the CDs yesterday. They are both great! Your voice is fantastic and the kids sound delightful. I also really enjoyed the instrumental arrangements. You did a marvelous job of singing, The First Candle We Light On Hanuukah. The flute was really cool. I loved it. And the instrumetnal version of Shabbat Means with the saxophone was inspired.

Thank you so much for recording these songs and for sending me the CDs. Good luck with the sales!

Regarding Shabbat Jam and Hanukkah Songs of Light and Hope
Larry S. Kaplan ( ASCAP)
Impressively eclectic, Deborah Katchko – another pioneer female cantor puts a refreshing, colorful spin on quintessentially Jewish songs and stories. Drawing upon Middle East rock, Country Western and traditional and contemporary Jewish melodies, Katchko’s powerful voice can sound both sensual and spiritual.
Hadassah Magazine
Just this morning, we were privileged to have our colleague, Deborah Katchko-Gray, as our guest artist/scholar at my temple in Amenia, New York. In addition to her co-officiation with me at the worship service, she presented the program, “Gems of my Grandfather: Music, Ideas, and Visions of Cantor Adolph Katchko,.” as part of our adult education. Although almost all of us have been deeply influenced by the music of Adolph Katchko, Deborah added a dimension of insight, examples I have never heard before, and even a duet of “Adonai Malach” which was truly inspiring. I would wholeheartedly urge you to consider Deborah as a scholar-in-residence or a guest lecturer. The congregation could not have been more moved or appreciative of this excellent program.
Rabbi/Cantor Jon Haddon
Finding Family Through Song”- A Story – The presentation given by Cantor Katchko-Gray of Temple Shearith Israel of Ridgefield, CT on Thursday October 29th, 2009 was a remarkable presentation. This was an inspiring and moving story of music, faith and family beautifully told. We think it was definately one of the very best programs that the Mary Brewster Fund has offered!
Zayne McFarlane
Katchko-Gray can reproduce “ that old sound” by calling on melodies she received personally in true oral tradition.
Scales Out of Shul May 2007

Thank YOU Cantor Debbie!

You were a tremendous part of the event. Your guitar was very exciting and your song selections so uplifting. The moms loved your performance…It was a truly fun and inspiring time with you in the Sukkah.

Tracy Daniels
Director Women’s Philanthropy / Program Manager, PJ Library / UJA Greenwich, CT

Hazzan Deborah Katchko-Gray supported by flutist Mattan Klein and Seeds of Sun…just rocked the house and blew the roof off of Beth Judah for almost two hours. A mix between Mid-East, Israeli, Jewish pop, cantorial, Yiddish and kid-family friendly favorites..add to that a rather hot Israeli jazz trio and you have an explosive, energetic reaction. Everyone was clicking on all cylinders and the crowd ate it up.

Debbie is the real deal and can deliver it all. She has a powerful and sweet voice that works well in various styles and involved us locals nicely.

Hazzan Alan Smolen

Our Wedding Ceremony was PERFECT!

Derek and I want to thank you! The wedding ceremony was perfect! We got so many compliments on the ceremony! They loved the songs you sang, the Jewish traditions and how it was personalized for Derek and I.

Thank you so much for everything! We really appreciate everything you have done for us leading up to as well as on the wedding day.

Jessica (Moll) and Derek Sanderoff
This edition marks one of the most innovative, important, and creative blending of guitar and Jewish music. It surely will not take away from those Cantors who wish to chant either capella, or with piano or organ, but for those Cantors skilled in playing guitar, this will be a loving and long lasting companion which, I am sure, will touch the hears and souls of the next generation of Jews to hear this incredible music.
Rabbi/Cantor Jon Haddon

Cantor-in-Residence – Wonderful Musical Weekend!

We were fortunate to have Cantor Deborah Katchko-Gray at Temple B’nai Abraham as our Cantor-In-Residence for a wonderful musical weekend. Debbie led some of our services, had us singing new songs and melodies, and taught some wonderful holiday song parodies to our students, who then performed them for us at a Sunday Brunch. Oh…and we learned about her Cantorial heritage and heard some real Gems of her Grandfather’s Music. It was a homecoming of sorts as years ago, she became a Bat Mitzvah at our synagogue and her father had been one of our Cantors. Debbie connected with our members, young and old, and two of our students even asked after her Friday evening service if we could do this every month.

Rabbi Michael G. Kohn
Temple B’nai Abraham / Meriden, CT
Connecticut based Cantor Deborah Katchko has wide appeal. With a strong and soulful voice, she covers a broad range of songs in several languages, exposing us to Jewish culture from various times and places.
Boston University Alumni Magazine
We are all indebted to Deborah Katchko Gray for this new publication which will preserve her grandfather’s music, complete with modern innovations, for generations to come to grateful practitioners of the art of HAZZANUT.
Hazzan Jacob Ben Zion Mendelson

Best Day Ever!

Thank-you for being such a special part of our wedding weekend!

Your music and spirit helped make it truly the best day…ever!

Ari and Darren Leva
Deborah Katchko is such a wonderful gift to our festival!
Berna Hayden
National Children’s Choir Director
I’ve listened to a lot of traditional Jewish holiday song recordings and most, for one reason or another should not have been made. But, this one is significantly different. First, Deborah Katchko has a warm, rich voice. Second, she sings honestly. What do I mean? There are no tricks to this recording, just Deborah and her guitar and she’s making music. Third, she includes 25 ethnic songs full of information and history. This is a Hanukkah gift for the entire family.
Washington Parent
I find you to be a first-rate hazzan and a consummate artist…your cds are a shining example of what we should aim to emulate.
Cantor Pinchas Spiro (of blessed memory)
Your American Jewish Songbook selections were a perfect blend of English, Yiddish and Hebrew-appreciated by all. Your stage presence and hamische introductions of hte band and the songs added and extra measure of charm to the beauty of your voice and the wonderful sounds of your group. Your lead guitarist David, and the pianist were particularly outstanding……we were all blown away by the warmth and family feeling you created on our stage/bimah.!!
Steve Stein, MD
I am almost without words to say how much I enjoyed your concert at Beth El on Saturday night. You are so multi-talented and you have a beautiful radiant quality that truly glows and really touched me. I was impressed with your story telling and also with the way you shared your personal experiences and your family with us. I hope I have the opportunity to see you and hear you again! WOW-thank you !
Susan Pomerantz
If your tastes run to such classics as Yerushalayim Shel Zahav and you enjoy everything from Sephardic to Yiddish to contemporary pop, Katchko’s soprano renditions and acoustic rhythms are the perfect musical menu for you. Her inspiring version of , ” The Place Where I Belong” will have you singing along.
Hadassah Magazine
If a teacher had but one student- you- it would be Dayenu!……your songs bring joy to my heart!
Elie Wiesel
Nurturing our family’s Jewish identity is an art, rather than a science. Fortunately people like Deborah Katchko can help. Her three cds offer a rich array of traditional and contemporary Jewish music suffused with her warm and welcoming spirit.
Jewish Woman Magazine
In telling her story of living history and astonishing discovery, Cantor Deborah Katchko-Gray brings to life the love and faithfulness of holocaust survivors and the generations who remember them. People of faith will be embraced by Cantor Debbie’s generous spirit, learn first hand about the important of remembrance and rekindle their hope for a peaceful world.
Reverend Marc Delcuze
Thank-you again for a wonderful concert- Inspiring, beautiful and fun!
Alan Feld
One of our most successful Scholar – In – Residence programs ever ! She brings an accomplished voice, and a lively spirit that will fill your synagogue with music and joy. Cantor Debbie led Friday night and Shabbat morning services and a sing-along program for children and adults on Sunday morning. Her music, voice and personality enchanted all of our members.
Rabbi Martin I. Sandberg

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