Singers call them “church jobs,” the regular weekend work that saves the world’s most promising vocalists from starvation and full-time office careers. Of course some church jobs are better than others. For 50 years one of the better ones was not in a church but at K.A.M. Temple (now K.A.M. Isaiah Israel Congregation) in Hyde Park, where Max Janowski, a world-renowned voice teacher and composer of Jewish liturgical music, was the musical director.
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On Saturday two of Janowski’s former students, baritone Sherrill Milnes and mezzo-soprano Isola Jones, will join tenor Nico Castel for A Time of Singing, a concert in memory of Janowski and his wife Gretel. All three stars of New York’s Metropolitan Opera have volunteered their time, and the money they raise will go into a musical-scholarship fund in the name of the Janowskis. Milnes, a native of Downers Grove and one of the world’s most often recorded baritones, and Jones, a Chicago native and one of the Met’s famous Carmens, both credit Janowski with a major role in starting their careers.
The concert will feature the songs of Janowski, works by Bach, Handel, Verdi, as well as a selection of Yiddish and ladino folk songs. It begins at 8 PM Saturday, June 20, at K.A.M. Isaiah Israel, 5039 S. Greenwood; ticket prices are $15, $25, and $40. Call 883-2440.
