Ashkenaz Festival: Neshamayim

Neshamayim showcases the original music of singer Aviva Rajsky and guitarist Tom Bellman. The songs are pop/R&B settings of Jewish prayer. The band also includes keyboardist Neil Gardiner, drummer Jim Gelcer, bassist Jesse Visser and vocalist Kim Doron. Tom and Aviva are music director and senior cantor, respectively, at Congregation Habonim of Toronto. With the encouragement of the synagogue’s rabbi and the enthusiastic reaction of its membership, they first began infusing the religious services there with modern styles of music in the early 2010s, taking traditional melodies and arranging them with modern harmonies and rhythms. Eventually, they began writing original music, both individually and collaboratively. Their creative output gradually achieved a critical mass whereby creating a band to play the music outside of the religious services was the logical next step. The result is Neshamayim. The band debuted at the Ignite Festival in December 2023 and then played at Ashkenaz 2024 at Harbourfront. Stay tuned for their first recording, which is in the planning stages.