Students Gather in Cleveland for the First-Ever Songleaders Summit
Music has been a part of Jewish communal gatherings and traditions for thousands of years, from synagogue liturgy to modern-day college Jewish a cappella groups.
Today, songleaders do just what their name implies: lead their Jewish communities in energetic and meaningful music.
This November, Cleveland Hillel hosted their first-ever Songleaders Summit as part of Hillel International’s Regional Student Gatherings Grant Program, an initiative that empowers local Hillels to design and host cross-campus experiences led by students. Like so many other Hillel programs, the idea started with a simple conversation, and grew into an opportunity for students across North America to come together to learn and make music.
In this case, that conversation happened at Oberlin College, between Associate Director at Oberlin Hillel Yaffa Muhlbaum and her student songleader, Micah Margolis. “We were talking about how valuable a Hillel-wide songleaders network would be — a space to share music, ideas, and questions with one another,” Muhlbaum explained.
When they found out that such a network didn’t exist, they did the only thing that made sense: They started thinking about how to build one. And with support from Hillel International, that conversation ultimately led to an experiential leadership opportunity for student songleaders to create Jewish musical experiences for their campuses that combine tradition, ruach (spirit), and innovation.
The entire summit, which was headlined by songleading superstars Dan Nichols and Mayta Cohen, was heavily student-led: The student steering committee spent months working together in order to lay the groundwork for this program, brainstorming everything from breakout session topics to swag to Shabbat observance to dream musical guests.
“Jewish music is one of the most beautiful tapestries of tradition that our people have,” said Muhlbaum. “My hope is that participants will go back to their campuses with tangible leadership skills, energized attitudes about songleading and Judaism, and a community of songleaders that they will have helped build.”
One goal of the summit, which brought together students from a dozen campuses across North America, was to appeal not just to current songleaders, but also to students who are newer to the world of Jewish musical life. To support both groups, the summit offered two unique learning tracks: one for those more experienced songleaders, focusing on skill-deepening and more specialized breakout sessions, and the other for students nominated by Hillel professionals, with a focus on developing their confidence and skills.
Miriam Herron, a student at the University of Rochester, shared, “I learned how to play “L’cha Dodi,” which was the first Jewish song I’ve learned to play on the ukulele… It makes me feel excited that one day I’ll be able to lead services at Hillel.”
The summit also included mixers and informal jam sessions, songwriting and liturgy intensives, masterclasses on songwriting and leading with Dan and Mayta, and of course — as with any Hillel program! — delicious meals, energetic and meaningful Shabbat services, and plenty of time for participants to connect and build community.
“It was amazing and heartwarming to see this diverse group of student leaders connect, learn, rock out, laugh, cry and simply be in community together for a Shabbat. It was a true community,” said Hillel International Campus Support Director Ronit Sherwin. “It was beautiful and inspiring to watch the future of Jewish leadership right before my eyes.”
Congratulations to the organizers, steering committee, and student songleading community on this amazing event. Thank you for keeping us singing!