For many the highlight of a wedding is the music — ideally a great orchestra rocking away on the bandstand. The songs are Jewish the players know every note and every one of them sports a yarmulke on his head. Yet usually there’s one or two of them who can’t help but make you think: Funny he doesn’t look Jewish.…

Chances are he isn’t. These days most Jewish orchestras employ at least one or two non-Jewish and non-frum musicians to round out their bands. Most are performers in the secular world but they’ve willingly crossed the cultural divide to play a whole new repertoire of music for Jewish clientele.

In the process they also learn about badeckens sheva brachos and the mitzvah tantz. “I know more about the Jewish religion than a lot of unaffiliated Jews ” says Michael Coon a guitar player who’s been on the Jewish scene for years. Coon also knows according to Joe Blumenthal of Aaron Teitelbaum Orchestras “just about every Hasidic niggun that exists.”

So what’s a nice guitar player like Coon doing in a band like that?

What brings accomplished non-Jewish and nonobservant performers to play Jewish weddings? And what’s it’s like for them in a world of shtreimels black hats and freilechs?