- Meir Finkelstein
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Meir Finkelstein Birth name Meir Finkelstein Born 1951
IsraelGenres Contemporary Jewish Liturgical Music Occupations Hazzan Years active 1969–present Website meirmusic.com Notable instruments Piano Meir Finkelstein (born 1951) is a cantor and composer of contemporary Jewish liturgical music. He has composed more than 200 settings for the liturgy,[1] as well as scored numerous television programs, made-for-TV movies, and documentary films. His tunes are sung in many Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist congregations.[2][3] He is considered one of the most popular contemporary Jewish liturgical composers in the United States.[4]
Contents
Early life
Finkelstein was born in Israel in 1951. His father, the late Zvi Finkelstein, accepted a cantorial position in London, England, and the family moved there in 1955.[5]
Young Meir displayed outstanding musical talent at an early age.[5] Together with his older brother, Aryeh, he was soon accompanying their father in concert and on radio and television.[6] At age 14, Meir became the cantor for a small synagogue in Glasgow, Scotland, thereby becoming the youngest cantor in Europe.[1] The Finkelsteins went on to record two albums of original Israeli and cantorial songs.[6]
At age 18, Meir became the cantor for one of London's most prestigious congregations, Golders Green Synagogue.[1] While working at this congregation, he graduated from the Royal College of Music with an ARCM degree in voice, composition and piano.[1][5]
Move to the USA
A few years later he moved to the United States to become the cantor at Beth Hillel Congregation of Wilmette, Illinois.[5] In 1982 he was appointed cantor of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, California, a congregation he served for eighteen years.[7]
During his tenure with Sinai Temple, Finkelstein composed more than 100 settings for the liturgy while simultaneously enjoying a successful career as a Hollywood composer/arranger. He scored numerous television shows, including episodes of Dallas and Falcon's Crest, as well as many made-for-TV movies. He collaborated with Steven Spielberg, composing music for the Visual History Foundation's award-winning documentary, "Survivors of the Holocaust".[1][5]
Finkelstein's next cantorial position was at Congregation Beth Tzedec of Toronto, where he worked for three years before moving to his present home, Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield, Michigan.[5]
Finkelstein also works as a producer and arranger, and has collaborated on many of his colleagues' albums. He was one of the "Three Cantors," along with Alberto Mizrahi and David Propis, performing in sold-out cantorial symphonic concerts in Houston, Texas in 1995 and 1996.[8] He also lectures on the history of Jewish liturgy as a scholar-in-residence at synagogues in the United States.[9]
Musical style
According to Nick Strimple, Finkelstein's work is influenced both by his British musical training and American musical theater.[10]
Finkelstein's contemporary Jewish music is sung in synagogues throughout the world.[1] His song L'dor Vador (From Generation to Generation) is one of his most popular.[11] In 1993 he composed a Jewish requiem for victims of terror, Nishmat Tzedek (Soul of Righteousness). In 1995 he premiered an oratorio, "Liberation: A Choral Symphony", commemorating the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camps,[12] at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. The performance featured the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, and soloists.[5]
Family
Finkelstein's wife, Monica, is a practicing attorney at law in the greater Detroit area.[13] They have two children, Noah and Emily. Finkelstein also has two grown children in Los Angeles, Nadia and Adam,[5] by his first wife, Leba Nemeth, daughter of the late Rabbi Morris Nemeth of Liverpool's Greenbank Drive and London's St Petersburg Place synagogues.
Compositions/Albums
Bibliography
- Finkelstein, Meir; Frenkel, Chayim; Chicago, Judy (2003). Nishmat Tzedek. Kehillat Israel. http://books.google.com/books?id=nx-UHwAACAAJ&dq=meir+finkelstein&hl=en&ei=_WwzTZiLFMWI4gaYzNnSCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAA.
References
- ^ a b c d e f Smolen, Alan. "World Famous Cantor, Composer and Pianist Extraordinaire Meir Finkelstein at Beth Judah for 'Awesome Artist Adventure'". Jewish Times of South Jersey. http://www.jewishtimes-sj.com/news/2009-08-07/Front_Page/004.html. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
- ^ "A World Premier". Clarion. Adath Jeshurun. October 2009. p. 6. http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:n4E9t_5DeAEJ:www.adathjeshurun.org/Clarion/9.October%25202009.pdf+meir+finkelstein&hl=en&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShAjkzdJGIAWE0DAU7--QEfJt7c_bzW-YW7fchwsooEtUjbGVIVy5SOsVS5TKLZT8GRmRPyx49es2IZ2VcfDdrCOddbDKv-y6EGWyRtpn3HUFsoWVnUZUAdbl-kA2BrG2oiX-6F&sig=AHIEtbSWU_W_gVyXTjYsM_LT_2jGKkDe4Q. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
- ^ "Cantor Abbe Sher". Temple Judea of Manhasset. http://www.temple-judea.com/cantor_new.html. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
- ^ Miller, Malcolm (17 June 2009). "Refreshing Surprises". http://www.mvdaily.com/articles/2009/06/zemel.htm. Retrieved 16 January 2011 publisher=Music & Vision.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Clergy: Cantor Meir Finkelstein". Congregation Shaarey Tzedek. http://www.shaareyzedek.org/congregational_family/staff.html. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
- ^ a b "Clergy". Congregation Mishkan Tefila. http://www.mishkantefila.org/clergy_cantor.html. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
- ^ "Sounds of Sinai: One hundred years of liturgical music". Sinai Temple. 2011. http://www.sinaitemple.org/music_of_sinai/index.php. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
- ^ "Yom Limmud Presenter Bios 2010". houstonjewish.org. http://www.houstonjewish.org/local_includes/downloads/38068.pdf. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
- ^ "Biography". Meir Music. 2008. http://meirmusic.com/bio/. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
- ^ Strimple, Nick (1 November 2005). Choral Music in the Twentieth Century. Amadeus Press. p. 274. ISBN 1-57467-122-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=qepYmsiSnwoC&pg=PA274&dq=meir+finkelstein&hl=en&ei=m2ozTcLhNJLf4gaB2a3JCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=meir%20finkelstein&f=false.
- ^ Leighton, Lesley. "2010". Los Robles Master Chorale. http://www.losroblesmasterchorale.org/notes.shtml. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
- ^ "2010 Concert Performers: Chayim Frenkel". Kindred Spirits. 2011. http://kindredspiritslive.org/eventsperformers.asp?Ev_ID=26. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
- ^ "Finkelstein in Greater Detroit Area". linkedin.com. 2011. http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/+/Finkelstein/us-35-Greater-Detroit-Area. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
External links
Categories:- Hazzans
- Israeli composers
- Jewish composers and songwriters
- American television composers
- Alumni of the Royal College of Music
- Living people
- 1951 births
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