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Community Corner

Congregation Beth Am Welcomes New Cantor

Cheryl Wunch has joined the Buffalo Grove temple.

When I first got married and wanted to know where “all” the young families with kids move to, I was told Buffalo Grove. Having never heard of it, I questioned some Realtors, my boss who lived in Naperville and my older friends in their 30s (certainly, they were older and wiser). All of these groups concurred, Buffalo Grove was a great place to live, work and settle down.

Now, after being in this area for over 20 years, I’ve seen so much; restaurants come, go and come back again, bike trails put in, houses erected, school boundaries changed and new nail salons and banks that popped up at every corner. It’s all good, all in my town.

So when I was asked to be on the cantor search committee at my temple, not only was I aiding in finding a good fit for someone within our congregation, but also doing the dance of swaying someone to the beauty of all that Buffalo Grove has to offer. 

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At last, after an exhaustive search, a perfect fit was made. Cantor Cheryl Wunch from Toronto, who last lived in New York City, has made her move to Congregation Beth Am in Buffalo Grove.

Her move was an easy one and seeing that the suburbs aren’t the best for someone who wants a single’s social life, she chose to make her home in Evanston. Close to the city and not a bad commute to BG, it was a perfect solution.

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Cheryl is extremely talented and was able to know for certain that studying to be a cantor was the right career move for her. She said, “I have been studying music for as long as I can remember and was a voice major at a performing arts high school. I was a camper at URJ Goldman Union Camp and it was there that I fell in love with Jewish music. I continued on as a counselor and also discovered how much I love working with kids. I began teaching religious school and working with kids in my community. I did a double major in Religious studies and Classics at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, where I continued to study voice. I worked in CYW field (Child and Youth Worker); in group homes, shelters, and classrooms for a few years before deciding that in order to be completely fulfilled and happy I needed to combine my work in the social services with the joy and beauty that I experienced working in the synagogue. This is when I knew that being a cantor was the right path for me.”

We welcome Cheryl and hope that she enjoys all the wonderful things about our community. I met her at a Starbucks, so I know she’s got to be happy with the amount of those we have peppered around town.

“I have heard only positive things about the Chicago area, and the people at Beth Am made the move very easy," she said. "I haven't had too much time to explore yet, but I am really enjoying getting to know everyone around here, and I look forward to getting to know the area better. I look forward to praying and learning with everyone here.”

As always, email me with any news, topics or ideas that you want to read about. Remember, I’d like to be the first to know! I can be reached at laurenbgpatch@aol.com.

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