Simchat Torah 2023

BelleAnne and Andy met in a Jewish band and were married in 2002. They moved here from Kansas City 16 years ago with their son, daughter, and two dogs. BelleAnne has spent her time since retiring from decorating cakes singing, taking care of her mother, learning to read Hebrew and chant Haftara, and becoming a rising makher in the world of dolls. Andy, a ba'al teshuvah since 1988, has had a life full of music, software development, religious involvement, and cooking. When they were named as BA's Chatan and Kallah of the Torah for 5784, they accepted the honor gratefully but thought that perhaps someone had made a mistake, as there are so many other richly-deserving congregants.

"They are a huge part of music here at B'nai Amoona. They are our Sunday evening Minyan leaders. They chant Haftarah. They help lead Shabbat morning services.  They lead music for Simchat Torah and our congregational Pesach Seder. They are professional performers so to have them use their talents for their shul is very special and very generous. Andy created and led our in-house band, Harif, for over ten years.  He arranges and composes music for us. One cannot overstate the number of hours Andy has spent on arrangements and compositions for music here at BA. He sets up sound equipment, even generously lending BA his own sound equipment to supplement our own whenever needed. BelleAnne is our go-to tof player whenever we need a little extra color for a piece of a cappella music. She always jumps in to help with singing (including beautiful harmonies), with drumming, whatever is needed. And she does it with a tremendous amount of love and good humor. Andy and BelleAnne are incredibly talented, but more than that, they use their talents always with an eye towards Hiddur Mitzvah, the beautification of a mitzvah, raising up music and beauty in Jewish living."
- Cantor Sharon Nathonson

You can hear a sampling of Andy's many compositions on our B'nai Amoona album, Shirei Amoona, available on Spotify, iTunes, and YouTube.