Temple Beth Shalom, Austin, Texas

Cantorial Soloist: ABBY GOSTEIN

Biography

Abby Gostein moved to Austin to serve as Cantorial Soloist at Temple Beth Shalom in December of 2003. She previously served as Cantorial Soloist at Congregation Sha'aray Shalom in Hingham, MA from 1997-2003 and at Congregation Beth Israel in Austin, from 1994-1997. She has been committed to Jewish education and spiritual growth through Jewish music since her teen years, teaching Jewish music to children since 1986, starting at the synagogue of her upbringing, the Free Synagogue of Westchester, in Mt. Vernon, NY. She has led Jewish groups of all ages in prayer and song since 1988. Also a published composer of Jewish liturgical music (with Transcontinental Music Publications), her compositions have been sung throughout the United States and internationally. Abby holds a Master's degree in Speech-language Pathology from the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Yale University. She has served as head songleader at several different Jewish camps, including Shwayder in Colorado and Greene Family Camp in Bruceville, Texas. She lives with her husband, Michael, whom she met in 1992 in Austin, and their two sons, Daniel (8 years old) and Aaron (6 years old).

Michael & Abby Gostein

If you can help, Abby needs blank CD-R discs and cases (either soft or hard cases) for copies of music.

Please contact Abby at music@bethshalomaustin.org or at (512) 735-8900.

Temple Beth Shalom Music Library

Want to learn all of the Shabbat melodies sung at Temple Beth Shalom- and then some!?
Want to practice chanting for your bar/bat mitzvah?
Want to supplement your Hebrew class learning with songs?
Want to enjoy listening to Jewish music in your car?
Want to host a Shabbat dinner and singalong, but you're not a songleader?
Want to supplement your child's Religious School learning with holiday music?

Temple Beth Shalom has a music library for ALL congregants to enjoy and utilize. Housed in the Temple Beth Shalom office on the second floor of the Education Building is a file box containing music books, sheet music, CD Recordings, and information on Jewish music for Temple Beth Shalom congregants to check out. Just email admin@bethshalomaustin.org or call 735-8900 to arrange for a time to come by and check it out. Specific instructions for Music Library usage can be found on the top of the file box.

In this library you will find most of the Jewish music we sing for services, Shabbat, Havdallah, Holidays, Children's events, Religious School, B'nai Mitzvah preparation, Hebrew classes, and other events - in addition to many other beautiful and fun melodies for various occasions. Also in this library is a set of "learning quality" CDs recorded by Tiffany Goodman Bilbe that you are welcome to check out.

This is just the beginning of our Temple Beth Shalom Music Library, and we greatly welcome any music you have to contribute to our files as well! If you have any questions or you are looking for a particular piece of music not found in these files, please contact Abby Gostein at music@bethshalomaustin.org or at 512-735-8900.

Temple Beth Shalom warmly thanks Tiffany Goodman Bilbe for her contribution of time and resources to bring our congregation such a wonderful gift.

HOW TO FIND GREAT JEWISH MUSIC (Please note: Temple Beth Shalom and its employees do not endorse any of the following web sites, nor can we make any statements regarding the accuracy of information found in these sites. They are listed only as a convenience to you)

Whether you're looking for CDs for your own listening pleasure or to give as gifts, or looking for sheet music for a budding instrumentalist, here are some resources for you that may help you find a variety of Jewish music:

To purchase CDs and sheet music and hear sound clips of songs:

Interested in finding words and translations to Jewish / Yiddish /Klezmer songs?

http://www.zemerl.com - a great collection of Jewish and other songs - all karaoke!

http://campmassad.ca/hlyric.html - Hebrew Song Lyrics - a small but nice collection

http://www.yiddishmusic.com/ - A Bisl Yiddishkayt

http://www.hatikvahmusic.com/ - Hatikvah Music International

http://www.netspace.org/~dmacks/shira/archive-index.html - The (Mostly) Israeli Song Lyrics Archive

General Jewish Music Resources

http://ot006.urj.net/ - Hava Nashira is a web site for Jewish song leaders, songwriters, musicians, performers, and music educators. The site is geared towards the contemporary liturgucal side of Jewish music. There is an affiliated email discussion list, hanashir@shamash.org, which you can subscribe to from the web site. There is also information on the annual Hava Nashira Song Leading workshop at the Olin Sang Ruby Union Institute in Wisconsin, taught by various faculty including Debbie Friedman, Cantor Jeff Klepper, Craig Taubman, Julie Silver, Joe Black, Cantor Josee Wolff, Ellen Dreskin, et al. Buying Jewish Music Online (Stores, Producers).

http://www.jmwc.org/ - the Jewish Music WebCenter - an excellent collection of links to online resources for research in Jewish music.

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/freedman/ - The Freedman Collection of Yiddish Songs at the UPenn Library - a site put together with love for Yiddish song includes information about the UPenn Yiddish music collection as well as a fully searchable database of Yiddish recordings.

http://www.klezmershack.com/ - Ari Davidow's Klezmer Shack - one of the most respected authorities on everything Klezmer online.

http://www.bh.org.il/Music/index.aspx - The Feher Jewish Music Center is part of the Museum of the Jewish Diaspora - Beth Hatefutsoth in Ramat Aviv, Israel. The public visiting the Center may listen to recordings and view films about Jewish music. The collection of the Center contains more than 4,000 recordings and a computerized database cross-referenced by composer, performer, musical tradition, instrument, topic and language. The Center's database also contains information on Jewish musicians and poets. The Feher Center of Jewish Music has produced more than 20 records of Jewish Music in all its variety.

http://www.virtualcantor.com - is a great site for learning traditional Jewish liturgical music.

Music Downloads

High Holy Days
Adon Olam - French Sefardic - *.mp3 (1.1Mb)
Avinu Malkeinu - *.mp3 (863kb)
L'shanah Tovah Tikateivu - *.mp3 (440kb)
V'al Kulam - *.mp3 (500kb)

Chanukah
Chanukah Blessings - *.mp3 (620kb)
Maoz Tzur - *.mp3 (1Mb)

Purim
Wicked Wicked Man - *.mp3 (1Mb)
Chag Purim - *.mp3 (520kb)

Passover
Dayeinu - *.mp3 (1Mb)
Ma Nishtana - *.mp3 (1.1Mb)