Arts Editor

When your grandfather davened in his shtiebel, the prayers undoubtedly were not set to pop, tango, classical, barbershop quartet and klezmer music.

But that's what the audience will hear at the No Rock Like You: Songs for the Jewish Soul concert at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in the District on Saturday evening at 8:30. That performance and workshops on Sunday comprise the third Shalshelet International Festival of Jewish Liturgical Music.

Shalshelet is a locally based nonprofit dedicated to discovering and disseminating -- and encouraging the creation of -- Jewish liturgical music.

"These types of music speak to people in ways that other music doesn't because the styles are familiar," says Cantor Ramon Tasat, Shalshelet president. "This helps congregants and even clergy rediscover some texts that may have been overlooked because there wasn't a melody that seemed to speak to them."

Some 40 compositions were chosen for the concert and workshops from more than 300 submitted from composers in the U.S., Canada, Israel, Britain and Latin America, says Norma Brooks, a vice president of the nonprofit.

Local cantors who will perform at the concert and workshops include Rachel Hersh-Epstein of Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation in Bethesda; Sharon Steinberg of the Reform Beth El Hebrew Congregation in Alexandria; and Rochelle Helzner of Conservative Tikvat Israel in Rockville. In addition, Kolot HaLev (Voices of the Heart), a new community choir led by Tasat, will participate.

Among the composers are cantors, rabbis and cantorial and college students. Brooks -- a Chevy Chase resident who divides her time between her psychology practice and composing and singing Jewish liturgical muisc -- notes that among the composers are a mother-daughter team that jointly created one of the pieces and another mother and daughter who separately produced two compositions.

The five workshops, which will take place on Sunday, are always popular, Tasat explains. "Ordinary people come and are intrigued by the fact that they find composers speaking about how they created their music," he says.

After each festival, the group disseminates the music by producing a CD and a book of music based on the event's music. Both are sent to cantors around the country, says Tasat, cantor at Shirat HaNefesh in Chevy Chase and director of cantorial studies at the Academy for Jewish Religion in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, N.Y.

In addition, Shalshelet conducts workshops around the country.

As a result, Shalshelet-discovered melodies have become part of prayer services in synagogues in Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Miami and California.

Locally, Brooks points to Adat Shalom, Shirat HaNefesh, Tikvat Israel, Conservative Ohr Kodesh Congregation in Chevy Chase, Independent Liberal Bethesda Jewish Congregation, Reform Temple Micah in the District and Reform Temple Shalom in Chevy Chase as synagogues that include some Shalshelet melodies in their services.

Shalshelet, Hebrew for chain, as well as a rare Torah cantillation, was launched five years ago.

The nonprofit is in stage two of its development, Brooks explains. "Phase one encompassed discovering music, finding out if it was it out there," she says. "We found more music than we could have imagined. In phase two, we want to concentrate on disseminating and preserving it.

"These are treasures of the Jewish community that will get lost if we can't increase our efforts in disseminating them."

The group wants to hire professionals to make that happen, but will need to raise more money. It already has received grants from the Helen Bader Foundation, Rita Poretsky Foundation, the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County and individual contributions.

"After the festival, the board will focus on how to make phase two happen," says Brooks.

She also notes that Shalshelet's festivals have been more than just musical events. They also have been instrumental in bringing the Jewish community together. For this one, many local shuls are providing accommodations for participants from elsewhere in the country and from abroad, as well as inviting them to take part in services.

"There are different kinds of people from different backgrounds and denominations, young and old, men and women, clergy and nonclergy, all kinds of styles and languages, all coming together to celebrate sacred texts that touch the soul and renew Jewish life, helping people make the deep connection to God," she says.

No Rock Like You: Songs for the Jewish Soul will be performed at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in the District on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. Tickets, $20 ($25 at the door), are available at www.shalshelet.org. The free workshops begin on Sunday at 10 a.m.