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The Brooklyn Cantorial Project

In partnership with the Brooklyn Jewish Historical Initiative, the American Society for Jewish Music has developed this exhibit of the history and singing by important Brooklyn cantors, from the “Golden Age Cantorial Singing,” in the early and middle 20th century, to the present day.  
 
Drawing on the resources from its Charlie Bernhaut Collection of Jewish and Cantorial Recordings, the American Society for Jewish Music provides not only capsulized biographies and photographs, but also musical examples as well as links to existing videos of cantorial singing from both the Ashkenazic and Sephadic traditions. Important Brooklyn synagogues associated with the various well-known cantors are also highlighted, as well as cantors mentored trained in Brooklyn but who made their professional reputations elsewhere.
Featured will be historical cantors Yossele Rosenblatt, Mordechai Hershman, David and Moshe Koussevitsky, Jacob Rappaport, Richard Tucker; current-day such as Jack Mendelson, Benzion Miller, Yitzchak Meir Helfgot, and Yanky and Shumel Lemmer from the Askanasic community.  And from the Syrian-community cantors Menachem Mustacchi, Gabriel Shrem, Yosef Raphael Yair Elnadav, and Meir Levy.

The Brooklyn Jewish Historical Initiative

Formed in 2006, the Brooklyn Jewish Historical Initiative (BJHI) is chaired by Howard Teich and enthusiastically supported by key New York City Council Members and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. In 2010 the organization partnered with the Brooklyn Historical Society and has focused its efforts on documenting, archiving and celebrating the history of Jews in Brooklyn, one of most important Jewish communities in the world which has no recorded history of its own.

Current-Day Cantors Trained in the "Golden-Age Tradition"

Yossele Rosenblatt, Mordechai Hershman, David Koussevitsky, Moshe Koussevitsky,
​Moshe Ganchoff, and Richard Tucker

Ashkenazic Canotrs from the "Golden Age of Cantorial Singing"

Jack Mendelson, Benzion Miller, Yitzchak Meir Helgot, Yanky and Shumel Lemmer

Sephadic Cantors from the Syrian Community

Menachem Mustacchi, Gabriel Shrem, Yosef Raphael Yair Elnadav, and Meir Levy.
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