Sisters Rochelle and Robyn Helzner first performed together in public as elementary school kids, but their joint singing engagements in the many years since have been uncommon affairs.

That makes the 2007 Cantor's Concert at Tikvat Israel a rare treat - a chance to hear two lovely voices in harmony on the songs of the season, as well as a few surprises. This year's event, dubbed "A Helzner Happening: A Concert for Families" takes shape at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 2 at the synagogue's social hall.

The sisters will be joined on stage at times by the other two musicians in the Robyn Helzner Trio, a professional outfit that travels the globe to perform concerts, and school-age children from Tikvat Israel and the Hebrew Day Institute who are part of a choir for the event.

Complete details on ordering tickets can be found at http://tikvatisrael.org/community/HelznerHappening.html. The event serves as one of the year?s most important fund-raising activities at TI.

The Helzner sisters' first public performance as a tandem came well before Rochelle envisioned a lengthy career as a cantor in the Conservative Jewish movement. She was 10 years old and her sister was 8 at the time they sang for an appreciative audience at the Hebrew Home. The moment was recorded in local Jewish history by a newspaper photo appearing a few days later in the Washington Jewish Week.

Robyn Helzner recently provided some personal insights on the rare opportunity to perform side by side with her big sister in a recent exclusive interview.

Q. You don't get to perform much publicly with your sister these days. Does that make a joint appearance special in some ways?

Robyn: When Rochelle and I were growing up, we sang together all the time. We were known as "The Helzner Sisters." These days, our joint performances are few and far between, so it is always a very special event when we have the opportunity to do a concert together.

Q. Can you estimate how many times - as adult professionals - that you've performed together in concert? Has that ever happened outside of appearances at our synagogue?

Robyn: The majority of our joint concerts have been at Tikvat Israel. We also performed together at Temple Israel, before the merger with Beth Tikva, and at a community-wide festival in Northern Virginia. Most recently, Rochelle and I performed a concert for the Jewish community in Honolulu, Hawaii!

Q. Does your dad Manny, being the lifelong musician who influenced your formative years in music, offer any guidance, suggestions or critiques these days?

Robyn: These days, our dad, also known as Mr. Kvell, just listens and beams!

Q. The last time the cantor's concert at TI included the Robyn Helzner Trio was five years ago. Did Rochelle suggest it might be time for a return engagement?

Robyn: The Trio participated in the concert to celebrate Rochelle's 18th anniversary at Tikvat Israel in 2002. The Trio has an extensive repertoire of songs that appeal to both children and adults. Rochelle decided that a concert for families, combining our voices and energies, would be a marvelous way to celebrate the Chanukah holiday.

Q. Well-placed sources indicate the Tikvat Israel show is considered a family concert with an array of musical offerings that will appeal to young and old?

Robyn: Absolutely right!

Q. Are you introducing anything new or especially fun to the song list in this show?

Robyn: In addition to creating a chanukiah composed of kids, how does a song in English, Hebrew, Luganda and Arabic sound

Q. Anything else you'd like to share?

Robyn: We are very excited to have a children's choir, featuring students from the Tikvat Israel Religious School, join us in the concert.

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