Through music and faith, Larry Farber has devoted his life to the cause of building harmony. As Rabbi Knight puts it, “Larry is synonymous with music, friendship, laughter, and community leadership.” On November 6th, we honored Larry with the Blumenthal Lifetime Achievement Award, our way of saying thank you for a life of mitzvot.
Larry discovered music at an early age performing in various bands from middle school into adulthood. Larry found joy in managing, booking and promoting bands, and in launching musical ventures. He booked bands for Hit Attractions, then joined EastCoast Entertainment and helped turn it into a musical juggernaut with 15 offices, including one in Charlotte.
In 1999, he helped launch Alive After Five, the popular uptown concert series. In 2007, he created Music With Friends, offering an intimate, private concert experience. The Middle C Jazz Cub is Larry’s legacy. In 2019, the club opened in uptown Charlotte, honoring the music of his childhood.
Larry served as president of Temple Beth El from 2002 to 2004. He created a vision for a community fundraiser – One For All Ball – that has raised some $2 million to benefit the Jewish community. He helped create Chai On Laughter in 2019, when we bestowed this same honor on Larry and Dale Polsky. He launched an initiative to recruit and train future lay leaders. The Robyn Farber Leadership Development Program honors his late sister. Larry was also on the committees that helped bring us Rabbis Judy Schindler and Asher Knight.
We honor and thank Larry for all he has meant to the life of our community. “Larry is being given this award because of the size of his heart and a lifetime of commitment to others,” says David Crane, a longtime friend of Larry’s, who presented the Blumenthal Lifetime Achievement Award. A lifetime of music, a lifetime of faith, a lifetime of friendships and a lifetime of leadership – we thank you Larry Farber. We celebrate with his wife, Sherri McGirt; their three sons – Adam and his wife, Sarah, Harrison and his wife, Julia Gray, and Reid; and their three precious grandchildren, Sutton, Mac and Sam.
The proceeds will support Temple’s annual budget, endowment, and Robyn Farber Leadership Development Program.
Thank you, Larry, for providing the soundtrack of hope.
