ABOUT HAZZAN MATIS

visiting this weekend

Hazzan Benjamin Matis will be invested as a Cantor and will receive his Master’s of Sacred Music from the H.L. Miller Cantorial School of the Jewish Theological Seminary in May 2008.  Hazzan Matis earned a Master of Arts in Music History from Queens College and a Bachelor of Music from the Peabody Conservatory.  He also studied at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem for one year.  As a cantorial student, Hazzan Matis served as part time cantor at the Highland Park Conservative Temple in Highland Park, New Jersey and at East 55^th Street Conservative Synagogue in Manhattan.  Prior to entering JTS, Hazzan Matis worked as a Hazzan in several congregations, officiating at religious services and life cycle events, training Bar Mitzvah students, leading choirs, and teaching adult classes.  Hazzan Matis has organized and performed in cantorial concerts including a major Cantorial concert fundraiser last year in New Jersey after a major fire devastated the synagogue sanctuary.

College Scholarships

Each year, the National Jewish Committee on Scouting offers five scholarships worth $7,000 to Jewish Eagle Scouts who also earn the Ner Tamid or Etz Chaim religious emblems.  Some scholarships are based on financial need and others are not.  Interested Scouts should go to the NJCoS web site: http://www.jewishscouting.org/ for more information and applications.  For 2008, applications will be accepted from 11/15/07 to 2/29/08. Selections will be announced on or about May 1, 2008.  Interested Scouts can also contact: Jay Schnapp, Chairman, Sub-Committee on Scholarships, National Jewish Committee on Scouting, BSA via email at: jschnapp@pipeline.com