NOTED RECORDING ARTIST AND COMPOSER RABBI SHEFA GOLD IS NAMED THE 2004 ANNA JONES FELLOW AT BARD COLLEGE

Gold will be in residence at the College from April 15 through April 20;
a public workshop, "The Art of Leading Sacred Chant," will be offered on April 20

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—Rabbi Shefa Gold, a noted recording artist and composer, has been named the 2004 Anna Jones Fellow at Bard College. She will be in residence at the College from April 15 through April 20 and will offer workshops and instruction to the community. On Tuesday, April 20, at 6:15 p.m., Gold will lead a public workshop, "The Art of Leading Sacred Chant," in the Chapel of the Holy Innocents. Admission is $18; free to Bard students, faculty, and staff.

Whatever one’s "religious background or orientation," Gold says that the workshop "will strengthen your skills in the ancient sacred art of leading chants." Gold has been internationally acclaimed for her talent and excellence as an empowering teacher and trainer, and will support the participants to aid them in emerging as skillful chant leaders.

Other programs during her residency at Bard include the Atzilut Envision Peace Concert in Olin Hall at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 15, which Gold will open and close with sacred chanting for peace in Hebrew, English, and Arabic ($10 general admission; free for Bard students, faculty, and staff). A Shabbat service and dinner on Friday,
April 16, at 6:30 p.m., is open to the general and Bard community in Bard Sacred Space, Village Dorm A. A chanting meditation led by Gold on Saturday, April 17, also open to the general community, will be held in the Chapel of the Holy Innocents. And on Sunday, April 18, at 7:30 p.m., also in the Chapel, Gold will help facilitate an Evensong service. On Monday, April 19, in the Chapel at 5:30 p.m., she will offer a workshop titled "When Is Love? The Song of Songs and the Effects of Chanting on the Human Spirit: Experience and Discussion." The workshop is free for members of Bard’s Institute of Advanced Theology; a $10 donation is requested from the general public.

Rabbi Shefa Gold, a leader in Aleph: the Alliance for Jewish Renewal, received her ordination both from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and from Rabbi Zalman Schacter-Shalomi. She is the director of C-DEEP, the Center for Devotional Energy and Ecstatic Practice in Jemez Springs, New Mexico. Gold composes and performs spiritual music and has produced nine albums; her liturgies have been published in several new prayerbooks. She travels the world teaching workshops and retreats on the theory and art of chanting, devotional healing, spiritual community building, and meditation. Gold combines her grounding in Judaism with a background in Buddhist, Christian, Islamic, and Native American spiritual traditions that make her uniquely qualified as a spiritual bridge celebrating the shared path of devotion. She received a B.A. in philosophy from Ramapo College and an M.A. in the philosophy of creativity from Goddard Graduate Program.

For further information about these events, e-mail Rabbi Goldie Milgram, Jewish chaplain at Bard College, at rebgoldiem@aol.com, or call 845-758-6822.

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(3.23.2004)

This event was last updated on 04-09-2004

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