If you’d like to build a weekend of collaborative, musical programming for your community, ask us about an Artist in Residence weekend! Jeff will work with you to construct an entire Shabbaton full of music, teaching, collaboration, songwriting, prayer, unity and fun! Jeff’s experience as a Hit Songwriter, and Team-Building Facilitator, combines with that of his roles as Synagogue Executive Director and Co-Worship Leader of the band JewGrass Revival. Throw it all together in a pot of soup, and your house of worship or JCC gains the benefit of tapping into a much deeper and more varied pool of experience when compared with other Artist-in-Residence scenarios. We can throw in a dose of “Tikkun Olam” if with a bit of creativity!
Pick 4 of the 5 options below!
Friday Night Services (A Southern Comfort Shabbat)
Bring Jeff out for a Friday night that will shake the dust off the week and have people smiling all weekend. Built on classic folk-rock, Irish (yes Irish) and country melodies, this service is a completely guided prayer experience designed to highlight the beauty of Shabbat, while engaging the congregation as part of the service. Jeff involves congregants with guest readings, and a bit of discussion in between certain prayers/songs. And if there are any musicians in your congregation that want to take part more formally, that can be arranged which adds a very nice layer of collaboration. Services can be from the Bimah or “in-the-round.? Either way, the service is interactive and incorporates Jeff’s 7 songs-7 Stories concept.
Saturday Morning – Board/Leadership Team-bonding Songwriting Session. (Hopefully with good coffee, and nosh.)
Join Jeff for a 2-hour songwriting session, where the topic of the day will be your congregation at this moment in time. Challenges, goals, opportunities, solutions, organizational storytelling. We’ll write this song together in the fashion of old Mo-Town, Tin-Pan Alley or Nashville hit makers. Either for your board, your leadership staff, or a combination of both…this is a GREAT team-bonding experience. We can take it seriously and come up with your “Official Congregation Song”, or we can use it simply as a brainstorming exercise and take it in a different direction. Either way, you’re going to have fun and be challenged!
Havdalah service – followed by an Intimate House Concert.
Your living room was made for live music! House concerts are a great way to connect. Gather up a few friends, pour some drinks, and gather ’round for a night of music right in your own home! Jeff will work with you to create the perfect evening of good times with good friends. You can even make this a fundraising dinner event for your VIP level givers.
Community Gratitude Concert –
Done in partnership with another non-profit, and or additional house of worship. Can we find a local youth or youth group that needs instruments and somehow incorporate that component? This event can also be used as part of a fundraiser for you or a partner non-profit.
- Sunday morning – singing songs with the young folks in your religious school. Jeff will work with your Sunday School Director or whomever is point person for Sundays, to do an interactive morning prayer session together.
- Got song leaders? Jeff will work with them while he is here on items such as : stage presence, helpful hints on involving an audience, basic sound production and songwriting tips.
** Finally, if you’d like to commission Jeff to work with your key leadership on writing and recording an official theme song for your congregation either in conjunction with the above songwriting/team-building leadership session, or separate and apart from that. Let’s have that discussion. There are multiple layers to this part of a project, and we’ll walk you through them. Blessings, Jj
Songwriters & Musical Facilitator Residencies
(A partial list)
U.S. Army
The Beat of Life
The Songs of Love Foundation
Face the Music Foundation
Boys & Girls Clubs of America
JCCA (Jewish Community Centers of America)
- Merrin Leadership Program
- JELI Leadership Program
- LEAP Leadership Program
Committee Member – Jewish-American Music Festival of Nashville
Producer of the CD – Jewish Songwriters of Nashville, Sing Reflections of Judaism