Cantor in Reform Judaism
Encyclopedia
The cantor in the Reform movement
is a clergy member who fills a diverse role within the Jewish community. Cantors lead worship, officiate at lifecycle events, teach adults and children, run synagogue music programs, and offer pastoral care. Cantors typically serve along with other clergy members, usually rabbis and occasionally additional cantors, in partnership to lead synagogue communities. The Reform cantor is a professional office with a prescribed educational path and professional organization. Cantors are "invested", a term borrowed from the idea of priestly vestments, at the conclusion of study. "Investiture" confers the status of clergy to cantors, just as "ordination" does for rabbis.
– Jewish Institute of Religion, School of Sacred Music. Located near New York University, the school offers the degree of Master of Sacred Music. Upon graduation, students receive formal investiture as Cantor and then become eligible for membership in the American Conference of Cantors, the professional organization for cantors.
The School of Sacred Music was established in 1948 as a response to the "growing number of Reform congregations... prepared to employ a cantor if qualified individuals could be found," under the leadership of Eric Werner. American synagogues in the mid-twentieth century were increasingly populated by second generation American Jews and Jews who viewed themselves as fully American. These communities could no longer relate to the European trained cantors of their communal past. Judah Cohen observes that "the American cantorial school rose on the crest of both a revival and reevaluation of the cantor in the postwar era. Placing standards of cantorial knowledge and ability within a curricular framework," the School of Sacred Music "attempted to improve the cantor's religious standing."
At its inception, the SSM was the first and only American cantorial school and sought to educate cantors to serve all American Jewish communities. While the school's founders, including the influential members of The Society for the Advancement of Jewish Liturgical Music, articulated their desire to create a cantorial school for all of American Jewry, particular attention was given to serving the Reform Movement's specific needs since the SSM's inception. HUC Dean Franzlblau conducted an exploratory survey of North American Reform congregations to gauge their "receptivity to cantor-educators in 1948." The results of the study revealed that congregations would be most receptive to hiring well-trained cantors who were prepared to take on significant education roles in synagogues. The school's earliest curriculum responded to this need, training what were called "cantor-educators," or cantors with additional training in education. Cantorial certification was awarded after three years of study. The SSM has since undergone a significant evolution, first offering a Bachelor's Degree in four years, beginning in the fall of 1953) , and ultimately conferring a Master of Sacred Music over the course of five years and culminating with Investiture as cantor.
, High Holiday and Festival nusach
, Chorus, Musicology, Reform Liturgy and Composition; Judaica and text classes such as Bible, Midrash and History; and professional development. Each student is assigned practica (mini-recitals) during the second, third and fourth years of school culminating with a Senior Recital (based on a thesis) during the fifth year.
The ACC is the professional organization of over 450 invested and/or certified cantors. Responsible for raising the professional standards of synagogue musicians, the ACC offers continuing education programs in conjunction with HUC-JIR School of Sacred Music and professional development opportunities for its members.
Members of the ACC have special expertise in the music of the Jewish people and serve synagogues and communities in pastoral, worship, programming, and educational roles. The ACC sponsors an annual convention and publishes Koleinu, a regular newsletter. It also offers placement services to its members and URJ congregations through the Joint Cantorial Placement Commission. The American Conference of Cantors is an affiliate of the Union for Reform Judaism.
, teaching all members of their community, helping to build strong Jewish identities, offering pastoral care, and officiating at life cycle events. Even though the cantor fills a diverse role in the modern Reform synagogue, the "heart of the cantorate" remains in "the sanctuary," leading the Jewish people in prayer.
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
is a clergy member who fills a diverse role within the Jewish community. Cantors lead worship, officiate at lifecycle events, teach adults and children, run synagogue music programs, and offer pastoral care. Cantors typically serve along with other clergy members, usually rabbis and occasionally additional cantors, in partnership to lead synagogue communities. The Reform cantor is a professional office with a prescribed educational path and professional organization. Cantors are "invested", a term borrowed from the idea of priestly vestments, at the conclusion of study. "Investiture" confers the status of clergy to cantors, just as "ordination" does for rabbis.
History
Cantors in the North American Reform Movement are trained by the Hebrew Union CollegeHebrew Union College
The Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is the oldest extant Jewish seminary in the Americas and the main seminary for training rabbis, cantors, educators and communal workers in Reform Judaism.HUC-JIR has campuses in Cincinnati, New York, Los Angeles and Jerusalem.The Jerusalem...
– Jewish Institute of Religion, School of Sacred Music. Located near New York University, the school offers the degree of Master of Sacred Music. Upon graduation, students receive formal investiture as Cantor and then become eligible for membership in the American Conference of Cantors, the professional organization for cantors.
The School of Sacred Music was established in 1948 as a response to the "growing number of Reform congregations... prepared to employ a cantor if qualified individuals could be found," under the leadership of Eric Werner. American synagogues in the mid-twentieth century were increasingly populated by second generation American Jews and Jews who viewed themselves as fully American. These communities could no longer relate to the European trained cantors of their communal past. Judah Cohen observes that "the American cantorial school rose on the crest of both a revival and reevaluation of the cantor in the postwar era. Placing standards of cantorial knowledge and ability within a curricular framework," the School of Sacred Music "attempted to improve the cantor's religious standing."
At its inception, the SSM was the first and only American cantorial school and sought to educate cantors to serve all American Jewish communities. While the school's founders, including the influential members of The Society for the Advancement of Jewish Liturgical Music, articulated their desire to create a cantorial school for all of American Jewry, particular attention was given to serving the Reform Movement's specific needs since the SSM's inception. HUC Dean Franzlblau conducted an exploratory survey of North American Reform congregations to gauge their "receptivity to cantor-educators in 1948." The results of the study revealed that congregations would be most receptive to hiring well-trained cantors who were prepared to take on significant education roles in synagogues. The school's earliest curriculum responded to this need, training what were called "cantor-educators," or cantors with additional training in education. Cantorial certification was awarded after three years of study. The SSM has since undergone a significant evolution, first offering a Bachelor's Degree in four years, beginning in the fall of 1953) , and ultimately conferring a Master of Sacred Music over the course of five years and culminating with Investiture as cantor.
The SSM today
Today, the curriculum of the SSM includes liturgical music classes covering traditional ShabbatShabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
, High Holiday and Festival nusach
Jewish prayer modes
Jewish liturgical music is characterized by a set of musical modes. There are a number of ways to define a musical mode - many scholars think about a mode as a collection of pitches or a scale, while others define a mode as a collection of musical motives or phrases....
, Chorus, Musicology, Reform Liturgy and Composition; Judaica and text classes such as Bible, Midrash and History; and professional development. Each student is assigned practica (mini-recitals) during the second, third and fourth years of school culminating with a Senior Recital (based on a thesis) during the fifth year.
American Conference of Cantors
Successful completion of the five-year School of Sacred Music program allows the newly invested cantor membership in the American Conference of Cantors. This professional organization was established in 1953 by the early graduates of the SSM. The ACC currently serves over 450 cantors, offering conventions, newsletters, a listserve, and placement support.The ACC is the professional organization of over 450 invested and/or certified cantors. Responsible for raising the professional standards of synagogue musicians, the ACC offers continuing education programs in conjunction with HUC-JIR School of Sacred Music and professional development opportunities for its members.
Members of the ACC have special expertise in the music of the Jewish people and serve synagogues and communities in pastoral, worship, programming, and educational roles. The ACC sponsors an annual convention and publishes Koleinu, a regular newsletter. It also offers placement services to its members and URJ congregations through the Joint Cantorial Placement Commission. The American Conference of Cantors is an affiliate of the Union for Reform Judaism.
Women in the Reform Cantorate
In 1968, Sally J. Preisand was the first female accepted for rabbinic training at Hebrew Union College. When Sally Preisand was ordained in 1972, she became the first female rabbi in America. Following the ordination, the Reform Movement of Judaism also began accrediting female music students for formal cantorial studies. In 1975, Barbara Ostfeld-Horowitz became the first woman to be ordained as a female cantor. Following graduation, she received pulpit placement and was inducted into the American Conference of Cantors, the professional organization for cantors. Ostfeld's investiture "marked an era of rapid demographic change" at the SSM, investing more than 179 female cantors. Reflecting on her profession, Ostfeld-Horowitz writes, “Women cantors have altered the way in which prayer is offered, heard, and received.”The evolving role of the cantor
Prominent historian of the cantorate Mark Slobin explores the evolution of the office of the cantor in his work Chosen Voices:The Story of the American Cantorate. Slobin outlines the journey of cantor as a sacred singer who would find employment by responding to positions posted in the newspaper in the 1930s to the formalized process of cantor/congregation matchmaking now in place. The creation of the School of Sacred Music in 1948 marks the beginning of the cantor as a modern professional. At the inception of the SSM, the role of the cantor in the American synagogue was so narrow that the concept of the "cantor-educator" was created so that the newly minted cantors would have the additional skill set of "educator" so that they could serve congregations in a full-time capacity. The school abandoned the notion of the "cantor-educator" as the perception of the modern cantorate expanded to include the duties now associated with the role of the full-time cantor. The role of today's Reform cantor includes inspiring others in the act of worship, serving as an authority on Religious Jewish musicReligious Jewish music
This article describes the principal types of religious Jewish music from the days of the Temple to modern times.-History of religious Jewish music:...
, teaching all members of their community, helping to build strong Jewish identities, offering pastoral care, and officiating at life cycle events. Even though the cantor fills a diverse role in the modern Reform synagogue, the "heart of the cantorate" remains in "the sanctuary," leading the Jewish people in prayer.
Works cited
- Cohen, Judah. The Making of a Reform Cantor. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2009.
- Meyer, Michael A. The History of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion: A Centennial History 1875–1975. Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press, 1976.
- Slobin, Mark. Chosen Voices: The Story of the American Cantor. Chicago: University of Illinois, 2002.
- http://www.accantors.org/acc/node/25. Accessed: October 2009.
- http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/cantors-american-jewish-women. Accessed: October 2009.