As Hazzanim, it is important that we keep ourselves in four places musically:

1. Our Roots – we need to have a strong understanding of where our music began, it’s origins.  We have to retain our knowledge so as not to forget where we started musically in our liturgical/musical background.
2. The “Golden Age” – this of course referring to the late 1800’s early 1900’s.  What is it that made Cantors so great during that time.  The Choirs; the great voices; the Synagogues clamoring for great voices; the Congregants coming to listen to those great voices.
3. Today – not just the contemporary style of people like Debbie Friedman (z”l), Rick Recht, and Craig Taubman, but the music that our young Congregants listen to.  We need to be able to blend those styles with the styles of the past, keeping true to Nusach while at the same time keeping “musically” in touch with all of our Congregants. 
4. The Future – As Cantors – the keepers of our rich, musical traditions – we have to always be open to the new, not just discount it because it is “not what we would listen to”.  We have to be able to integrate musically the future with our current, and our past.

This always makes our job as Hazzanim fresh, challenging, and at the same time exciting. 

When I meet with Colleagues and speak about this subject, many of them will go to different extremes.  Either they only look to the past, the “Golden Age” and attempt to emulate that style.  I am not saying this is a bad thing, however this can restrict the Congregants that we can musically reach and entice to come to services.  Or some look to the contemporary style and state that the “Golden Age” is through and this is the “new-Golden-Age”.  Again they are only reaching a certain faction of our Jewish Community. 

There are of course other factors, and we need to continue a dialogue on musical styles and musical adaptation in our services while keeping true to ourselves. 

Can we blend the old with the new?  Can we adapt?  Historically Judaism has been able to do that throughout our history.  When the 2nd Temple was destroyed by the Romans circa: 70 CE we adapted.  No longer were we part of a Sacrificial Cult.  We moved on and moved forward.  Our music has adapted throughout our wanderings in the Diaspora.  Many of these musical trends can be found in several Scholarly works. 

It is important that we continue to evolve – at least for us Hazzanim – musically.  I do not believe that we have to do only one or the other – I believe that we can blend the old and the new.