Temple Israel will hold an Artist in Residence Weekend featuring musician Zach Mayer on Friday-Sunday, March 14-16. All four programs will be held at Temple Israel, 4737 Deerfield Pl., Vestal. The entire community is invited to attend. The events are free. For more information or to register, contact Temple Israel at 607-723-7461 or office@templeisraelvestal.org, or visit the temple's website.
On Friday, March 14, at 4:30 pm, there will be a Purim celebration that will include music, dancing and a megillah reading. Those attending are encouraged to wear costumes. A musical Kabbalat Shabbat and light meal will follow. 
On Saturday, March 15, at 10:15 am, Mayer will lead a musical tefillah program in the Temple Israel chapel for children and their families. It will include songs, storytelling and games geared for children of all ages. The morning will culminate in a hakafah, where the children will march with their parents to the main service, while singing and dancing alongside the community. A kiddush will follow services. 
On Saturday, March 15, at 7:30 pm, Shabbat will conclude with Mayer leading Havdalah, which will be followed by a participatory concert event co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Binghamton. “The inspirational concert will include Mayer’s original melodies, nigunim, Jewish songs and Hebrew chants designed to uplift, delight and heal,” said organizers of the event. Community musicians wishing to play their instruments in accompaniment with Mayer are encouraged to reach out to Temple Israel for more information on how to obtain sheet music. Light refreshments will be served. 
On Sunday, March 16, at 11 am, the weekend will conclude with a workshop exploring the art of harmony and the spiritual power of song. Participants will learn two melodies, a traditional nigun and one of Mayer’s original compositions, “while discovering which elements are rooted in tradition and which are new.” Light refreshments will be served. 
“Mayer is a well-known musician who is part of a wave of new Jewish musical artists, composers and facilitators of communal song who intertwine love for traditional Jewish music with a contemporary style,” said organizers. “He is known for his unique ability to bring people together through the power of nigunim, spiritual wordless melodies rooted in the Jewish tradition. Mayer channels his family lineage of the four generations of cantors before him as he helps communities find their own joyous voices in songs.”
The Artist in Residence Weekend is made possible thanks to a gift from The Community Foundation for South Central New York – The David and Virginia Eisenberg Fund.