Cantor Janice Cohen has joined the clergy staff at Congregation Kol Am in Freehold.
Photo courtesy Congregation Kol Am
October 7, 2008
At age 13, Janice Cohen knew she wanted to become a cantor. She fulfilled her dream and has brought her love of religious music to Congregation Kol Am in Freehold.
“I felt a calling, especially after my bat mitzva, and I knew that being a cantor would become my life’s work,” said Cohen, who grew up in New York City and West Orange. “My decision was heartfelt and came from my soul. I had no political or theatrical agenda — my only agenda was that becoming a cantor felt right for me.”
Cohen, who lives in North Brunswick with her two teenage sons, spent the past 10 years as the cantor at Temple Shalom in Aberdeen. Previously, she was a student cantor at Temple Beth Miriam in Elberon for several years.
Bringing her cantorial skills to Kol Am resulted in feelings of warmth and acceptance, she said.
“This congregation has embraced me,” said Cohen. “I felt at home there right away. There is a true sense of spirituality, and I want to be part of a congregation that continues to move in a spiritual direction.”
Kol Am, a Reform congregation with 95 member families, was formed six years ago. The congregation meets in Freehold schools and municipal buildings, but is searching for an existing structure or property in the Freehold area on which it can build a permanent home.
“This is a sociological and spiritual time when people think twice, or even three times, about what they want in a congregation,” Cohen said. “This congregation is growing and is drawing members from a broad geographic base. It’s a congregation that is on the move.”
Cohen received a master’s degree in sacred music in 1993 from Gratz College in Philadelphia. From 1992 to ’99, she coordinated the music education program at the Center Play School at the JCC of Greater Monmouth County in Deal.
She also served as the cantor at the New Jersey “Y” Camp in Milford, Pa., where she spent many happy summers as a camper.
“My decision to become a cantor was partly based on the feedback I received throughout the years and when I was a camper and a college student,” said Cohen. “People would say that my singing moved them and encouraged them to become more prayerful, or that hearing my singing made them feel better after they had experienced a bad week.
“Cantors are preachers in music,” she continued. “My goal is to light a soul on fire.”
At Kol Am, Cohen has begun preparing musical sermons for every age group. She also leads the Tot Shabbat services with Rabbi Brooks Susman, Kol Am’s religious leader. She wants to start a liturgical band, consisting of guitars, drums, and flutes.
“Her warm and inclusive musical style invites congregational participation,” said Susman. “She strives to empower individuals to sing the liturgy along with her.”
And the concept of inclusiveness is important to Cohen.
“I want to be a clergy leader who helps the congregation members feel that they always have a sense of family here,” she said. “People share Jewish moments that occur in their lives, in the same way they share lifecycle events. A sense of ‘belonging’ emerges from sharing these events, and I want to support this in every possible way.”
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