Songs composed and performed byCantor Lance Rhodes

Rhodes to Life!Benefactor Appreciation Event

Café & ConcertSunday, February 10, 2013 at 7:00 pm

30 Sh’vat 5773Anderson FairHouston, TX

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Song Order and Themes: Where Are You in Life?

1. Petals of a Rose

2. Yismechu Hashamayim

3. Love, What Does It Mean?

4. What Can I Promise You?

5. Rock of Ages

6. Oseh Shalom

7. Kol Haneshamah

8. A piano medley preceding Our Heroes’ Prayer

9. Our Heroes’ Prayer

10. Let It Out

11. Living With Miracles

12. Loving You

13. Medley: Time Flies, Sending Us Through, The Next Journey

14. We Will Survive

Creation

Creation

Questions & Exploration

Love

Protection

Peace

Unity & Celebration

Prayer

Prayer

Overcoming Sorrow

Finding God

Happiness

Time & Journey

Survival

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Song Notes

Petals of a Rose (1999)

Lyrics by Rabbi S. David Kane

Everything begins with creation… and it is beautiful.

Yismechu Hashamayim (2004)

Text from Psalm 96

Musical word painting in this song refl ects the location of the heavens/sky, earth, and sea using three placements of vocalization: high, middle, and low. I composed this setting while overlooking the ocean on a cruise ship that I worked for. If you listen closely to the piano part, you can hear the waves of the sea as we sing the “ohs” of “um’lo’oh” (“the fullness”) together.

Love, What Does It Mean? (2002)

Lyrics by Rabbi S. David Kane

One of the greatest and most popular questions in life. Many have fi gured this out, but many are still trying.

What Can I Promise You? (2005)

Lyrics by Rabbi S. David Kane

Once love is found, it creates a bond that often leads to commitment. This song was written for and performed at Rabbi Kane’s wedding.

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Rock of Ages (2008)

Lyrics by Cantor Ben Kintisch

A song of protection and comfort.

Oseh Shalom (2009)

Text from the liturgy

May there be peace.

Kol Haneshamah (2007)

Text from Psalm 150 with additions by Cantor Jeremy Stein

Let’s celebrate life together, Halleluyah!

A piano medley preceding Our Heroes’ Prayer (1996-2000)

This piano medley consists of songs I wrote during my teenage years. The songs include “You and I Forever,” “The Morning Sun,” “In Search of a Dream,” and “The Wrong Fire.”

Our Heroes’ Prayer (music 2006, lyrics 2012)

Lyrics by Cantor Lance Rhodes

This song premieres tonight. I was inspired to write the lyrics by a story I heard from a speaker during Shabbat morning services at Brith Shalom.

The story is of a young Israeli girl on her birthday frightened by the sight of enemy missiles overhead. Praying for her life, she is comforted by the sight of her country’s rockets crashing into the missiles and protecting Israel. The little girl says to her father, “Look, Daddy, fi reworks on my birthday!” Although this story is specifi c to the Israeli confl ict, the prayer for peace in the song’s refrain sings to the entire world.

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Let It Out (2005)

Lyrics by Cantor Lance Rhodes

This song was written about seven years ago, but this is the fi rst time that it is being performed publicly. This song also tells a story.

It’s a tale of two characters in two different unfortunate situations. The characters eventually cross paths: a girl who was stood up and a guy working as a clown with a painted smile that really hides his sadness. The song leaves us with a message: If you fall, fi nd a way to pick yourself up. Overcoming obstacles in life has the potential to be very rewarding if you allow yourself to be open to the reward.

Living With Miracles (2007)

Lyrics by Cantor Lance Rhodes

Miracles bring hope our way, and we see them every day!

Loving You (2010)

Lyrics by Cantor Lance Rhodes

This song was written for my wife, Dena. I performed it for the fi rst time during our wedding ceremony in the Brith Shalom sanctuary.

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Medley: Time Flies, Sending Us Through, The Next Journey (2001-03)

Lyrics by Jeffrey Rhodes, Cantor Lance Rhodes, and Rabbi S. David Kane

These three songs are being performed as a medley for the fi rst time tonight.

Time Flies begins this medley with the symbolism of an alarm clock going off. We are soon transported in time by the work for piano solo, Sending Us Through. The song’s rhythm suggests the weight of a giant pendulum going back and forth, like a time machine getting ready to transport us into The Next Journey. The Next Journey is in a style known as “minimalist,” which features the reiteration of a musical phrase made up of just a few notes. The phrase goes through stages and transformations and continues for the entirety of the piece, representing the everlasting journey. Hence, even when you do not hear the piano repeating the thematic phrase, it is still there.

We Will Survive (2002)

Lyrics by Rabbi S. David Kane

This song was featured at the 9-11 Memorial Service held at the Univer-sity of Miami in 2002.

The Next Journey: A closer look at the meaning

Our souls share their energies with everything and everything is a part of our souls. We travel together and apart, each on journey after journey. We struggle with the familiar and the unfamiliar, with the light and the dark. Through our best selves, we fi nd the strength to overcome, to persevere to move on. We glean from each journey the vital essence of the experience, making it part of us wondering all the while, will there always be a next journey? The song opens with a repeated musical phrase representing the soul that encounters obstacles that may help it or cause confl ict. The soul manages to retain its form and grows in strength.

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Thank you to all of our Congregation Brith Shalom Benefactors. Your generosity and support has allowed us to reach new heights in our own journey as a synagogue and community. This concert was created as a way to thank you.

Special thanks go to Alan and Etna Goldsmith for sponsoring tonight’s event and to David and Julie Pomerantz for chairing it. My great thanks to Rabbi Teller, Larry Estes, Cantor Levine and the rest of the Brith Shalom staff; Milton Mosk, Allan Goldstein, and the rest of our offi cers and our Board of Trustees; Tim Leatherwood and Anderson Fair for hosting us tonight; Debi Mishael for her beautiful decorations and center pieces; my loving wife, Dena, for all of her support and guidance; my parents for all of their love and years of traveling to my every performance just the way they have fl own from Florida for this concert; my parents-in-law, Al and Marsha, for all of their support; and all of my song-writing partners for helping me make music.

Acknowledgements

Short Biography

Cantor Lance Rhodes was born in Fairfax, VA, but lived in Ormond Beach, FL for most of his life. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Miami in 2003. Beginning in August of 2004, Cantor Rhodes attended the H. L. Miller Cantorial School at the Jewish Theological Se minary. During his years at JTS, he served as a student cantor for many different synagogues including Temple Beth El in Oakhurst, NJ, Congregation Sons of Israel in Nyack, NY, Congregation B’nai Torah in Ormond Beach, FL, the Midway Jewish Center in Syosset, NY, and Temple Israel in Daytona Beach, FL. Cantor Rhodes was invested as a hazzan and received his Master’s degree in Sacred Music from JTS in May of 2009. He is excited to continue his journey as the cantor for Congregation Brith Shalom. He now lives happily with his loving wife, Dena, whom he met during the High Holy Days of his fi rst year at Brith Shalom.

In addition to leading bands in Miami, New York City, and Houston, Cantor Rhodes has written music or performed for the following organizations: