The initial project of RenewalRecords is Songs of Renewal, set for release in August of 2006. Marshall Portnoy, Cantor of Main Line Reform Temple in the western suburbs of Philadelphia, originally conceived of a recording that would resonate with congregants and friends who were ill or grieving or who had reached some significant spiritual crossroads. As Marshall sang the material, Philadelphia studio musicians and engineers joined him in fashioning a warm accessible ode to the potential of the human spirit. The recording which resulted is an anthem of hope expressing the exhilaration of the human spirit when it reaches for the divine.

It contains ten songs, four of which were written by Debbie Friedman (“You Are the One”, “Prayer for Healing”, “And You Shall Be a Blessing” and “May We Be Blessed”) and two by Marshall. Meir Finkelstein (“From Generation to Generation”) and Stephen Richards (“May It Be Your Will”) are also represented on the recording. The ecumenical intent of the album is evidenced by the inclusion of Michael Joncas’ setting of Psalm 91, “On Eagles’ Wings”, so beloved in the church, and Marshall Portnoy’s transformation of Stanley Myers’ “Cavatina” from the movie The Deer Hunter into a setting of the Twenty-Third Psalm.

Marshall’s daughter Julie Beth Portnoy, an undergraduate at the University of Oregon, is featured on the song “May It Be Your Will”.

Singers from the Philadelphia area provided backup for all the selections on Songs of Renewal. Featured on many of the cuts are two outstanding young sopranos, Katrina Bolt and Chana Crawford.

The musical support for Songs of Renewal and the basic artistic “sound” of the album were inspired by Andrew Heller and Joe Mass. Andrew has worked side by side with Marshall Portnoy for a dozen years as the Music Director, Arranger and Accompanist for Main Line Reform Temple. For the uniquely accessible sound of this particular album, the pair turned to rock musician Joe Mass, arranger and instrumentalist extraordinaire.

Much of the artwork and promotional development of the CD is in the hands of Range Entertainment in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, and its brilliant young music marketer Marc Eimer. This is the same site where the CD was recorded with the wizardry of master sound engineer Kevin Williams.

ABOUT MARSHALL PORTNOY

Marshall Portnoy, founder of RenewalRecords, is the Cantor of Main Line Reform Temple in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. A graduate of Yale and vice-President of the American Conference of Cantors, Marshall has dedicated his life to the preservation and revitalization of Jewish liturgical and folk music. His two-volume work, The Art of Cantillation, published by URJ Press and co-authored with Cantor Josee Wolff, has brought the joy of reading scripture to tens of thousands throughout the globe. His musical works such as “Meditation”, “I Still Believe” (co-authored with Susan Callen) and “Birth is a Beginning”, are published by Transcontinental Music Publications and grow in popularity with each passing year.