Schools

The American Seminary for Contemporary Judaism
New Cantorial school which has finished its first year of teaching the art of Chazzanut. Located at the Baldwin Jewish Center in Baldwin, New York. The Seminary is new,having opened in October, 2004, but it is affiliated with the Jewish Ministers Cantors Association of America (JMCA) which was foundin 1896 as the Hazanim Farband iand is the oldest cantorial association in the United Sttes. The JMCA will serve all denominations of Jewish cantors. One of the main advocacies of the group will be the preservation of nusach. The program of study is based on the "nuts and bolts" of what cantors need to know. The perspective is essentially Orthodox, although the Conservative and Reform perspective are also explained to students. The Seminary is at 885 East Seaman Avenue, Baldwin, NY 11510. Contact by phone: 516-223-0375 or visit:
http://www.theascj.org

The Academy for Jewish Religion
The Academy for Jewish Religion, located at 6301 Riverdale Ave., Riverdale, NY 10471. Phone: 718 543-9360. They train cantors in a Jewish pluralistic environment. Cantors are trained to "lead dynamic, spiritually uplifting, meaningful religious services in all denominational liturgies and nusach." They also train rabbis. "It offers full or part time study and mechina programs. Cantorial and rabbinic students study and learn together and ordination is conferred on both Rabbinic and Cantorial graduates."
http://www.ajrsem.org/

The Academy for Jewish Religion, California (AJR, CA)
Located at the Yitzhak Rabin Hillel Center for Jewish Life at UCLA, The Academy for Jewish Religion, of California is a pluralistic Rabbinical and Cantorial Seminary and Chaplaincy Program. AJR, CA's Cantorial Seminary is the only Cantorial school in the Western United States and its' Dean, Hazzan Nathan Lam, is the hazzan of Stephen S. Wise Temple, the largest congregation in the world. The Cantorial Seminary trains men and women to become cantors who will be a living resource of the varied aspects of the Jewish musical tradition - with mastery of the melodies and chants for Jewish prayer, and of the music for home, school and community. This mastery, coupled with the ability to impart and inspire, includes the contemporary modes and sounds, which resonate with today's generation. Studies lead to ordination as "Hazzan and Teacher in Israel," as well as a Masters Degree in Jewish Sacred Music. The program requires solid background in Jewish learning, including full proficiency in the Hebrew language. Also required are sound musical and vocal skills. Completion of the program generally requires five years of full-time study, with part-time study options available. Cantorial students are individually coached by a practicing cantor during each semester of the program. A Master's thesis is required for ordination. AJR, CA has recently established The Greenfeld Cantorial Library of Jewish Music, an invaluable resource for cantors, soloists, musicians, students and laypeople interested in the richness of Jewish music. For more information, please visit www.ajrca.org

Australian Centre for the Study of Jewish Civilisation
The Australian Centre for the Studey of Jewish Civilisation (A.C.J.C.) at Monash University was established in 1992 to foster teaching and research in the field of Jewish Civilisation at undergraduate and graduate level. They have established an archive in Jewish music.
http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/jewish_civilisation/index.html

The Philip & Sarah Belz School of Jewish Music:Yeshiva University
The Belz School trains cantors and is affiliated with Yeshiva University.
http://www.yu.edu/belz/

Centro di studi sulla musica ebraica
YUVAL Italia - The Italian Center for the Study of Jewish Music (Centro di Studi sulla Musica Ebraica), was founded in January 1997, in Milan, Italy. Its fundamental purpose is to provide written and aural documentation of Jewish musical traditions, particularly those in Italy. It holds a Library and a Sound Archive, and provides contacts to musicians and music festivals throughout the country. The Center, founded with the aid of Professor Israel Adler, is the first of its kind in Italy and operates in collaboration with the Jewish Music Research Center of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. YUVAL Italia is currently directed by Dr.Francesco Spagnolo. YUVAL produces a weekly live radio show from Radio Popolare, Milan.
E-mail: yuval@powerlink.it.
For more information you may write to the following address:
YUVAL Italia --Centro di Studi sulla Musica Ebraica
via della Guastalla, 19
20122 Milano, ITALY.
tel/fax +39 02 55014977
http://www.powerlink.it/yuval/english.html

Commission on Synagogue Music -Training for Synagogue musicians
Training for Synagogue musicians. The Commission on Synagogue Music, in close cooperation with Hebrew Union College - School of Sacred Music, offers annual seminars for Synagogue musicians. "Accompanists and choral directors from all over the country come to the School of Sacred Music in New York each summer and study topics ranging from basic Hebrew to Jewish choral music in the 19th and 20th centuries. They return to their congregations with an increased knowledge of our (musical) traditions and lots of new repertoire."
http://uahcweb.org/music

Department of Musicology, Hebrew University
The website states: "The Musicology Department, part of the Faculty of Humanities at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was founded in 1965 by the late Professor Alexander Ringer from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne. It was the first such department to be founded in Israel, and already in its first decade of existence it boasted such distinguished faculty members as Israel Alder, the late Bathja Bayer, Jehoash Hirshberg, Don Harrán, Josef Tal, Dalia Cohen, Ruth Katz, and Amnon Shiloah. Then as in nowadays, the Department seeks to advance knowledge and research of music as a multifaceted phenomenon having varied manifestations, in conjunction with both local and global contexts, and with an emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches. The Department offers courses in three major areas: historical musicology, ethnomusicology, and theory. Among the faculty members are specialists in most historical periods of European music, from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century. Research is informed by a variety of historical, cultural, analytical, and theoretical approaches, and scholarly interests currently include opera and musical drama, Jewish and Israeli music, non-western music, psycho-acoustics and cognition, counterpoint and harmony, aesthetics, semiotics, and music in relation to other arts."... "The department offers degree courses in the M.A. and Ph.D. levels, and seeks to cultivate expert musicologists who will not only be able to teach at the highest level, but also to produce original research."
http://www.hum.huji.ac.il/english/units.php?cat=728&incat=0

Das Europäische Zentrum für Jüdische Musik
Hannover, Germany. Das Europäische Zentrum für Jüdische Musik under the direction of Andor Izsák hopes to reconstruct and document the music of the synagogues that were lost during the time of WWII. Much of the Jewish cantorial, organ music and composers are unknown to most people today in Germany, and the Center's mission is to increase awareness and knowledge. The Center will search after documents, present concerts and sponsor festivals and symposia, and publish music.
http://www.ezjm.de

Gratz College
"The M.A. in Jewish Music program provides advanced study in the field of Jewish music... for teachers and supervisors of Jewish music programs, researchers, musicologists, choral directors, ritual directors, and hazzanim (cantors).... The program can be completed on a full or part-time basis. There is a 30-credit standard curriculum, which is designed for students pursuing careers as Jewish music educators, choral directors and musicologists. The 45-credit cantorial studies program is designed for students interested in pursuing careers as ritual directors, cantorial soloists or serving as hazzanim." Music students are expected to participate in performance opportunities at Gratz College inlcuding byt not limited to choral ensembles and the annual recitals of Jewish music. Additionally, there is a joint Master's in Jewish Music with the Reconstrucitonist Rabbinical College. Students matriculated at the Reconstrucitonist Rabbinical College who are interested in a speciality in liturgical music may apply for admission to the M.A. program in Jewish music at Gratz College. There is also a Certificate in Jewish Music. This is a graduate level certificate program which is designed for individuals who will teach Jewish music in schools and/or serve as cantorial soloists, as well as for others serving insimilar capacities who would like to formalize their knowledge in Jewish music.
For more information:
admissions@gratz.edu
or write to:
Gratz College
7605 Old York Road
Melrose Park, PA 19027
215-635-7300
800-475-4635
http://www.gratzcollege.edu

Hebrew College. Jewish Music Institute (JMI)& Cantor-Educator Program.
"Designed to prepare cantors who are educator-scholars as well as spiritual leaders, Hebrew College's Cantor-Educator Program combines coursework leading to both a Master of Jewish Education (MJEd) and Cantorial Ordination within a transdenominational setting." Hebrew College's program started as an accredited school with Masters and Doctoral programs in Judaic Studies and Education and 10 years ago opened the Jewish Music Institute where both para-professional and professional cantor-educators are trained. The first graduating class of Hazzanim was 2006. The Jewish Music Institute (JMI) supports "educators, cantorial soloists and other interested students" to "engage the world of Jewish music through the academic courses and certificate programs. Courses range from a historical survey of Jewish music to cantorial recitatives for the Sabbath and High Holidays, from Ashkenazic prayer chant to Yiddish and Klezmer music performance styles." In addition to materials for the study of Jewish education and general Jewish studies, the Gann Library of Hebrew College, now houses the New England division of the American Jewish Historical Society. The library is also beginning to support this new cantorial school, begun in Fall 2004. Bibliographic items include standard works such as the out-of-print classics series in synagogue music.
http://hebrewcollege.edu/html/library_1.htm

The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance
For classical music studies in Jerusalem which include two orchestras, dance troupes, choirs, masterclasses, workshops for Baroque, contemporary music, chamber music, opera and many more.... "The unique character of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance lies in its three constituent institutions: the Academy, the Academy High School and the Conservatory." At the Academy, one hundred and sixty professors, teachers, and artists are responsible for training more than 600 students, who study for the Bachelor and Master degrees in music, dance and music education. Some 550 students are currently studying at the Conservatory. The Academy High School is situated in the new Younes and Soraya Nazarian Building on the Givat Ram Campus adjacent to the Academy's main building in Jerusalem. Telephone 02 -5619443, 02-5618881.Fax: 02-5630537.
http://www.jamd.ac.il/English/

Jewish Music Institute: Hebrew College
The Jewish Music Institute provides training for educators in Jewish music and courses of general interest in Jewish music. Their certificate in Jewish music is "designed for Jewish educators, cantorial soloists, ritual directors, lay musicians and all those interested in furthering their knowledge of Jewish music."
http://www.hebrewcollege.edu/

Jewish Music Research Centre. Hebrew University, Jerusalem
Th Hebrew University Department of Musicology offers studies in Jewish music research. The Jewish Music Research Centre of the Jewish National and University Library of Hebrew University on Givat Ram contain the National Sound Archives and several large special collections of Jewish music. Among these are the A.Z. Idelsohn Archives, the recordings collection of Robert Lachmann and recordings of music from Jews around the world. Contains an excellent thesaurus of articles about Jewish music.
www.jewish-music.huji.ac.il

H.L. Miller Cantorial School and College of Jewish Music: Jewish Theological Seminary
The Miller Cantorial School trains cantors in the Conservative movement. The College of Jewish Music trains musicians for congregational service or as teachers of Jewish music, choral directors, composers or research scholars. The H.L. Miller Cantorial School awards the diploma of hazzan and the College of Jewish Music awards the bachelor's and master's degrees in sacred music. Students preparing for the cantorate are enrolled in both schools and are expected to complete the diploma program and the master of sacred music degree simultaneously, on a full-time basis, preferably within a five-year period.
http://www.jtsa.edu/cantorial/

**Nederlands Israelitisch Seminarium (NIS)
The NIS is the eldest fully operational Rabbinical Seminary in Europe (founded 1740). The Seminary is funded and recognized as an institution for Higher Education on University Level by Her Majesties Minister for Education, Science and Culture. At NIS people can study Jewish Music or train to become Hazzan. Contact:
Nederlands Israelitisch Seminarium (NIS)
Gerrit van der Veenstraat 26
1077 ED Amsterdam
The Netherlands
nis-nis@planet.nl

Ron Shulamit Conservatory of Jerusalem
The Ron Shulamit Music Conservatory is located in Jerusalem, Israel. Since 1910 the school has been providing students with quality music and dance education, while bringing the arts to communities across Jerusalem and Israel as a whole, through performances by ballet troupes, chamber orchestras, ensembles, and youth choirs. The school has made 3 CD's, including one by the accordian orchestra, one of the recorder trio and one by the chamber orchestra. Chassidic niggunim, songs based on psalms, traditional shabbat holiday melodies, as well as contemporary arrangements of Jewish classics (including several by Israel Edelson) are all contained on the CD's. The recordings can be purchase by sending an email: ronshulamit@yahoo.com To learn more, read this (pdf) description .

School of Sacred Music: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
The School of Sacred Music trains cantors for the Reform movement. The SSM is located at HUC-JIR's New York School, adjacent to New York University (NYU), and offers the Master of Sacred Music (MSM) to men and women who train to receive formal investiture as Cantor.
http://huc.edu/academics/cantorial/index.shtml

The School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (SOAS) University of London
The Department of Music at SOAS University of London offers Undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Jewish music.
Joe Loss Lecturer in Jewish Music, SOAS, University of London: Alexander Knapp
Regular Courses include: Aspects of Jewish Music (BA - undergraduate)
The Music of the Jews (MMus - postgraduate)
The aims and objectives of these courses are to explore a musical culture which began in the Levant some 3,000 years ago and which has been diffused throughout the world, constantly adapting to new conditions and yet retaining its identity in many widely differing ethnic and geographical environments. Scholarly investigations combine broadly ethnomusicological and intercultural approaches with elements of musicology. The music of the Jews is one of the fundamental factors in the understanding of Near Eastern and European traditions, first having influenced, and then having been influenced by, the musics of Christianity and Islam. In addition to issues such as these, the main areas under discussion comprise the music and chant in the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem; Psalms and biblical cantillation; the role of the cantor; religious music in the synagogue (orthodox and reform) and in the home; art musics of the East (Turkey and Persia) and the West (e.g. Ernest Bloch); popular genres ("Broadway" and "Tin Pan Alley"); the sacred and secular idioms of the Sephardi Jews of the Mediterranean and parts of the Near East (e.g. Judeo-Spanish ballads); those of the "Oriental" Jews of Ethiopia, Yemen, Central Asia, India and China; those of the Ashkenazi Jews of North, Central, East and West Europe and beyond (e.g. Yiddish and Hasidic music); and those of modern Israel. Both courses are supported by four extensive archives of written and recorded Jewish music materials housed in SOAS.
http://www.jmi.org.uk
Occasional Courses SOAS University of London
KlezFest London Annual Summer School
KlezFest London has become the place to study the uplifting and poignant music, song and dance of Eastern European Jewish life. The faculty are all the very top musicians, singers and teachers from America and from Eastern Europe. They are the pioneers of the Klezmer Revival as well as the links to the past. Their knowledge and expertise conjure up the warm and intense Yiddish culture in dance classes, lectures, workshops, masterclasses, performances and jams from 9am till after midnight. The students - instrumentalists and singers of all ages and backgrounds - gather from all parts the world, brought together by a common passion for Jewish Music. There is expert tuition in instrumental and ensemble playing and for existing bands. Instrumentalists get to dance and sing as well as learn how to make their instruments sound Jewish as they study the language, repertoire, rhythm, ornamentation and style of Eastern European Jewish life creating an exhilarating atmosphere. KlezFest London is ideal for proficient musicians, regardless of whether you have played klezmer or sung Yiddish songs before. But it is also geared to cater for those with considerable experience and to take them further.
www.jmi.org.uk

Tel Aviv Cantorial Institute
A leading insitute for training traditional cantors. "Graduates of TACI serve some of the most prominent synagogues in leading Jewish Communities worldwide. This institution was founded with a vision and far-reaching perspective regarding the importance of preserving the world of Chazzanut and nusach Hat filah for generations to come." The campus boasts the Brodt Center, with a multi-functional auditorium, and state of the art recording facilities, which enable the publishing of both historical and commissioned new liturgical works. The library contains invaluable recordings, manuscripts, videos etc, dedicated to the library of the institute so that they can be available to researchers, artists and the public in general, thus creating a resource center for the cantorial art, Jewish liturgy and Yiddish song.
http://www.taci.org.il/

College Courses outside of Israel

Brandeis University
NEJS184b. Joshua Jacobson. The Music of the Jewish People.
An investigation into the roles that music has played in Jewish life from ancient to modern times, including music in the time of the Bible, Rabbinic attitudes, prayer and scriptural cantillation, music in the Diaspora, polyphony in the synagogue, Jewish concert music, music in the Holocaust, in modern Israel, and in 20th century America. Usually offered every third year.

Colorado College
Jewish music course Music 224 (or Religion 224) offered through the music department. Interdisciplinary course traces musical traditions of world Jewry. Multicultural search for musical identity. Taught by Ofer Ben-Amots.
http://www.coloradocollege.edu/academics/catalog_pdf/section4.pdf

Harvard University, Ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology: Seminar. Music 208r. Catalog Number: 2232. Kay Kaufman Shelemay.
Music in Jewish Religious and Cultural Life. Music's role in expressing and maintaining Jewish identity.
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~musicdpt/courses/courses98_99index.html#ugrad

Living Traditions: KlezKamp
The original KlezKamp! "KlezKamp: The Yiddish Folk Arts Program" (now having completed its 17th consecutive year)allows participants to learn Yiddish, klezmer music, Yiddish dance, culture, language and arts. The camp is usually held the week between Christmas and New Year's, and recently has located to Cherry Hill, NJ. It's an exciting week filled with music, dance, food, freilach and fun. Lots of interesting people attend to learn, be with family and friends, have a good time, just be Jewish or learn Yiddish culture. Everyone from frum to new age feel comfortable at KlezKamp, and a fascinating mix of people attend each year. Expert teachers for the music divisions with master classes for the advanced students. Adult and children's activities and classes.
Henry Sapoznik, Director
Sherry Mayrent, Associate Director
Dan Peck, Operations
Cynthia Pierce, Office Manager
http://www.livingtraditions.org

Tulane University. Jewish Music MUSC333.
Tulane University Music Department. Dr. John Baron offers a survey of "Jewish sacred and secular music from Biblical times to the present. Considers music of the Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Yemenite, Israeli, Falasha, and American traditions."
http://www.Tulane.edu

University of Chicago: Jewish Music JEWSTD 262 239 01
University of Chicago Jewish Studies College offers a course in Jewish music taught by Philip Bohlman.
http://www2.uchicago.edu/adm-registrar/an9798/jewstdc.html

University of Florida, Music Department, College of Fine Arts
MUH 3621 Jewish Art Music in Western Culture.
A cultural history of western art music inspired by Jewish subjects, Biblical and non-Biblical, composed by both Jewish and non-Jewish composers, and a survey of Jewish performing musicians from the Renaissance to the present.
http://www.reg.ufl.edu/99-20catalog/courses/music.html

Occasional Courses

SOAS University of London KlezFest London Annual Summer School (2004 dates 8-12 August) Now in its fourth year, KlezFest London has become the place to study the uplifting and poignant music, song and dance of Eastern European Jewish life. The faculty are all the very top musicians, singers and teachers from America and from Eastern Europe. They are the pioneers of the Klezmer Revival as well as the links to the past. Their knowledge and expertise conjure up the warm and intense Yiddish culture in dance classes, lectures, workshops, masterclasses, performances and jams from 9am till after midnight. The students - instrumentalists and singers of all ages and backgrounds - gather from all parts the world, brought together by a common passion for Jewish Music. There is expert tuition in instrumental and ensemble playing and for existing bands. Instrumentalists get to dance and sing as well as learn how to make their instruments sound Jewish as they study the language, repertoire, rhythm, ornamentation and style of Eastern European Jewish life creating an exhilarating atmosphere. KlezFest London is ideal for proficient musicians, regardless of whether you have played klezmer or sung Yiddish songs before. But it is also geared to cater for those with considerable experience and to take them further. . Jewish Music Institute Website www.jmi.org.uk

SOAS University of London Jewish Song Programme: KlezFest London (8-12 August 2004) has a complete parallel vocal course with workshops and masterclasses in Jewish song focusing on interpretation, context and pronunciation for professional and amateur singers which will be run in 2004 by Adrienne Cooper, along with Shura Lipovsky from Amsterdam and Paulina Achkinazi-Shepherd from Eastern Europe. As well as a major focus on Yiddish song there are workshops for singers on Sephardi song with Yvonne Behar, Judeo-Arabic song with Sara Manasseh, Berlin and Paris Cabaret with Alexandra Yaron, Jewish art song with Ruti Halvani and where Jewish song is going today with Judith Silver. Jewish Music Institute Website www.jmi.org.uk

SOAS University of London Ot Azoy! Yiddish language and song course (even your clarinet sounds better if you know some Yiddish) this is the way - to speak, read and write (and song)Yiddish in a week! (2004 dates 1 -6 August) * Dr Khyele Beer, of University College London with * Peysakh Fiszman of Columbia New York and * Sonia Pinkusowitz of the Martin Buber Institute Brussels and special this year * Shura Lipowsky teaching Yiddish through song. This course is for people of all backgrounds who are either complete beginners or already at an intermediate level. It's the perfect opportunity for dipping in your toes and immersing yourself in Yiddish language, song and culture for those who always wanted to learn from scratch - or brush up on Yiddish they might have heard as a child, but were too afraid (or could not commit the time) to devote a whole summer to it. It's also for those who have already started and want to go further and reach intermediate level of reading writing and speaking - and its also a lot of fun. Its also very good for singers and instrumentalists, of all backgrounds, who can make their instruments sound more Jewish! (Many Ot Azoy! Graduates are now continuing Yiddish studies at weekly classes, advanced summer courses and at University. And Ot Azoy! makes a great companion course to KlezFest London 2004, which follows immediately. (Reductions if attending both courses). Jewish Music Institute Website www.jmi.org.uk

SOAS University of London Weekly classes in Klezmer under the supervision and tutelage of Sophie Solomon, (Acclaimed Violinist of Oi-Va-Voi) Jewish Music Institute www.jmi.org.uk

SOAS University of London School of Jewish Liturgical Music An interdenominational school, teaching cantillation and nusach to all those interested in Jewish liturgical music. One week Summer School (2004 20-24 June), devised by Stephen Glass Montreal, with masterclassses and workshops by internationally acclaimed Cantors, Naftali Herstik (Jerusalem) and Alberto Mizrahi (Chicago). Weekly classes organised by Jaclyn Chernett Jewish Music Institute Website www.jmi.org.uk