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Music has always been part of the Washington Hebrew experience. For over 150 years, we have had dedicated professionals and members of the congregation sharing their voices and musical talents.
In 1863, we have mentions of the WHC choir performing at our new synagogue at 8th & I NW, so we know that music was being integrated into services. Within a few years, an organ was installed, and well-respected professionals were brought in to play it.
In 1977, WHC hired our first cantor, Roy Garber, to lead the congregation not just from the choir loft, but directly from the bimah.
Washington Hebrew’s first full-time cantor, Garber, had previously been the first full-time cantor for congregations in Kansas City, Mo., and Milwaukee. His arrival at Washington Hebrew was part of a trend toward bringing cantorial music into the services of the Reform movement.
Cantor Mikhail Manevich was appointed Cantor at Washington Hebrew Congregation in 1989. In addition to infusing services and life cycle events with the warmth and power of his signature tenor, he has introduced innovative musical formats and diverse cultural influences into the worship experience. During his tenure with the Congregation, Cantor Manevich has performed at all the major concert halls of Washington, D.C., including the Kennedy Center, Constitution Hall, and the National Cathedral. His voice can be heard on six solo recordings, as well as two albums of duets with Cantor Bortnick.
Born in Leningrad, Cantor Manevich attended Glinka’s Choir School and received a degree in choral conducting from Leningrad State Conservatory of Music. After immigrating to the United States in 1976, he studied at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion’s School of Sacred Music, where he conducted the choir. He served Temple Emanu-EI of Livingston, New Jersey as Cantor before joining Washington Hebrew Congregation.
Cantor Susan R.A. Bortnick joined Washington Hebrew Congregation as Cantor in 2001 and was appointed Senior Cantor in 2020. Her crystalline soprano endows the Congregation’s services and life cycle events with soaring majesty, and she is always eager to explore new enhancements to the worship experience.
The first cantor from Amarillo, Texas, she is a member of the American Conference of Cantors (Reform) and Cantors Assembly (Conservative). A graduate of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion’s Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music, as a student cantor, she served congregations in Arnold, Maryland, and Ft. Worth, Texas. Inspired by Cantor Robert Gerber, Cantor Sharon Kohn, and Rabbi Liza Stern, Cantor Bortnick pursued cantorial studies after receiving a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in finance from the University of Texas, Austin.
She has recorded two albums with Cantor Manevich, now WHC’s Cantor Emeritus: Together, their favorite duets, and Shirei Shabbat, a recording of their innovative Shabbat service.
Suzanne Hamstra joined the WHC family as Assistant Cantor in 2022. She grew up in Santa Cruz, California, the daughter of folk musicians and bagel bakers. She grew up playing violin, singing, dancing, doing theater; effectively participating in every aspect of the performing arts that she possibly could. Any time that she didn’t spend in the arts, she spent at the beach or hiking in the redwoods.
She made her way to The Boston Conservatory for her Bachelor’s Degree and then to San Francisco Conservatory of Music for her Master’s Degree, both in classical voice performance, and spent several years as a freelance opera singer. Eventually, however, she realized that opera was not her true calling, and applied to Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion where she completed her cantorial studies.
She has served as a cantorial soloist at Congregation Sherith Israel in San Francisco, cantorial intern at Kehillat YOZMA in Modi’in, Israel, student cantor at Temple B’nai Chaim in Georgetown, Connecticut, and was the student cantor at Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel in South Orange, New Jersey.
Dr. Herman Berlinski
Herman Berlinski was born in Germany and moved to Paris in 1933 to study music. He came to the U.S. in 1941 and later earned his doctorate from the Jewish Theological Seminary. Music was always at the center of his life, and his passion for Jewish liturgical tradition shaped everything he did.
In 1963, Rabbi Gerstenfeld brought Berlinski to Washington Hebrew Congregation with the goal of making the synagogue a hub for exceptional sacred music. Berlinski embraced the opportunity and transformed WHC into a nationally recognized center for Jewish musical innovation. Critics from the general press even reviewed the services. He eventually earned the rare title of Minister of Music and built an international reputation for his powerful organ performances and compositions, touring across Europe and America.
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