PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Female cantors from around the country gathered in the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, to pay homage to the Liberty Bell, just a few feet away across Independence Mall. They played a piece for the first time, written by a soloist and composer among them.

The Women’s Cantors Network joined their voices to share a song in praise of their American Jewish heritage. It was a work commissioned for them, based on an inscription on the Liberty Bell.

“Since the conference was being held in Philadelphia, the commission committee gave me the text of the Liberty Bell.”

The piece, called “Song of the Bell,” was composed by cantor Lori Sumberg of Tuscon, Arizona.

“I intertwined Hebrew and English together to create an American experience and a Jewish experience,” Sumberg says.

The Women’s Cantors Network was formed in the early 1980′s to support a growing number of female cantors around the nation.

Reported by Steve Tawa, KYW Newsradio 1060