Detroit synagogue music program receives $10m grant

A synagogue in suburban Detroit has received a $10 million endowment to fund its music program.

Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan received the donation from members Sarah and Harold Gottlieb. The endowment will fund the Reform synagogue’s cantorial chair, which will be named in memory of the couple’s son, Stephen, who died in 2006.

The endowment will also fund the synagogue’s music program and an annual concert, the first of which will take place this July, according to the Associated Press.

“Our gift and the creation of this annual concert are in honor of our son Stephen, who loved music and was passionate about making it accessible to children and young adults,” said Harold Gottlieb, according to Detroit business publication DBusiness.

The couple previously established the Stephen Gottlieb Music Festival and Festival of Arts at the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit, which began in 2004.