Compiled by Sharon Wisch-Ray
sharon@tjpnews.com

Arlington Police Chief presents Volunteer of the Month Award to Phil Kabakoff

Phil Kabakoff was recently named Volunteer of Month by the Arlington Police Department.
Phil wears a lot of hats and is very active in the Arlington Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association. He is directly responsible for manning the Sky Watch Towers in the North District and plays a vital role with the APD’s volunteer program on North side.
Thank you Phil for your dedication with APD, and we appreciate all you do!
Phil is a member of Congregation Beth Shalom in Arlington.
— Submitted by Ben Weiger

Israeli/Jewish dance group forming

The Jewish Federation of Fort Worth and Tarrant County is funding an Israeli/Jewish dance group.
The group has met three times so far at from 7-8 p.m., every Wednesday at Beth El Congregation. Everyone is welcome.
Dance and music have always been an integral part of Jewish culture, one which brings communities together for celebrations, holidays and other gatherings.
The group will learn and perform Jewish dances from the Yiddish shtetl traditions that are slowly disappearing, as well as traditional and contemporary Israeli dance, helping to preserve this heritage and introduce people to this longstanding aspect of our culture.
Today’s Jews rarely experience the joy of Jewish music and dance reflected in daily life. This program will show that music and dancing are not just for b’nai mitzvah, weddings and other life-cycle celebrations.
This is a creative, fun activity for participants, and, most of all, will help participants reconnect to our Jewish roots through dance. Music speaks to the Jewish soul, and dancing reflects the joy of life and tradition.
As dance is more cultural than specifically religious, the program intends to connect people from different congregations and all segments. Moreover, the dance troupe will be available to lead community dancing and perform at community events, religious schools and holiday and life cycle observances. Put on your dancin’ shoes and head over to Beth El on Wednesdays!
— Submitted by Rebecca Cannon and Ilana Knust

Harp Society

On Feb. 28, The American Harp Society in Dallas presented a recital at St. Stephen Presbyterian Church in Fort Worth premiering the winning compositions of its Second Composer Competition. The winning selection, Sketches for Harp (Inspired by the Graphic Work of M.C. Escher) by Israeli composer Na’ama Tamir was performed by TCU harp instructor Laura Logan Brandenburg, and honorable mention composition, Carillon Wave was performed by the composer, Cindy Horstman.
Na’ama Tamir is an up-and-coming young composer. She collaborated with Ophir Bar-On to compose music for the animated film, The Miracle Lady (2009). Her piece Actually was performed by soprano Keren Hadar, the Collegium Singers and the Tel Aviv Soloist Ensemble under the baton of Barak Tal throughout Israel, and was broadcast on IBA Israeli Radio. The Limoncello Quartet played her piece Spirangle at the Ein Kerem Music Centre in Jerusalem during the Israel Festival in June 2014.
Also in 2014 the Israel Camerata Jerusalem performed her composition Spring Illusions, which was commissioned by the orchestra. Tamir’s composition From the Bottom of My Hurt was performed in March 2015 by Russian-Israeli pianist Irena Friedland at the International Women’s Day Festival in Riga, Latvia.
— Submitted by Laurel McConkey