Congratulations to the Micah musical community for an unforgettable service on Shabbat Shirah last month. Three generations of choirs and the infamous Temple Micah Pickup Band joined forces to create a unique prayer experience, based on the Mi Chamocha text read that day.

The vocal musical forces of Temple Micah are gearing up for an exciting evening of Jewish music on March 19 at the newly furbished Strathmore Hall in Bethesda. Some 23 synagogue choirs and cantors will present a concert of American Jewish music to commemorate 350 years of Judaism in America. We will sing a veritable panoply of music written on these shores. More information will follow next month.

On Sunday, Feb. 6, I will deliver a talk on Jewish music as part of the Temples Adult Education series at St. Albans. The topic of the morning will be the early "reform" of Jewish music, especially by the three "giants" of 19th century Jewish music. Solomon Sulzer of Vienna, Louis Lewandowski of Berlin, and Samuel Naumbourg of Paris exerted such an influence on the world of Jewish music that we are still singing their music as part of our worship today.

What made their impact so widespread and so lasting? What makes their music "Jewish?" Do they have any modern counterparts? These and other questions will be discussed with musical examples.

The Adult choir will rehearse on Feb. 3 and 17; please consult the Temple Web site for rehearsals for the Strathmore concert.

Makeilah (our choir for grades 5 - 7) will rehearse Feb. 1, 8, 15 and 22; the Youth choir will sing at the Friday evening service Feb. 4, followed by a Shabbat dinner. The mini-pickup band will play at the service Feb. 11.