Schools

Welcome to H. L. Miller Cantorial School and College of Jewish Music

A Message From the Dean

The cantorate is a dazzling and developing profession. Hazzanim have for hundreds of years led Jews in prayer. Today's hazzan has the added responsibility of being the Jewish community's fantastic musical presence.

The course of study at H. L. Miller Cantorial School and College of Jewish Music trains hazzanim to become religious role models and teachers of Judaism through music. Students who are musically gifted deepen their knowledge of the Hebrew language, the sacred and secular Jewish musical tradition, Jewish history, rabbinic literature, and the music of the Western World. Students are taught to utilize this potpourri of information to transmit the grandeur of the Jewish past and present to klal Yisrael.

Thus, students are trained to conduct volunteer or professional choirs, to compose new music while transmitting the treasured chants of the past, and to teach adults and children. Future cantors are taught to add to the beauty of Jewish life-cycle celebrations through liturgy and music.

The goal of H. L. Miller Cantorial School is to prepare hazzanim to be dedicated members of the Jewish clergy. While seeking the holy and mystical in contemporary human existence through prayer, psalm, and melody, the hazzan aims to inspire Jews to feel closer to God and to the Jewish tradition.

Henry Rosenblum
Dean, H. L. Miller Cantorial School and College of Jewish Music
The Jewish Theological Seminary

The Congregational Cantor

In the American synagogue, the cantor is the minister of music in the congregation. He or she leads the community in prayer, prepares students for bar and bat mitzvah, teaches the texts of the liturgy to adults and children, and shares pastoral duties with the rabbi. As an imaginative musician, the hazzan strives to raise the level of musical consciousness and understanding within the congregation and the community. Among other tasks, the cantor is involved in creating new compositions, leading choirs, and organizing and performing in religious and secular concerts.

There is an expanding recognition of the importance of the emotional component of religion and of its expression through music. This, combined with a current critical shortage of trained cantors, has made the American cantorate an increasingly attractive profession to musically talented people of the Jewish faith.

The opportunities for a spiritually rewarding life are immense, and positions for graduate cantors are available throughout North America. Salary schedules for graduate cantors are more than competitive with those of other music professionals.

Qualifications

Men and women who are college graduates, members of the Jewish faith, and adherents of Jewish ritual observances—including the Sabbath and holy days, daily prayer, and dietary laws—are eligible to apply for admission to H. L. Miller Cantorial School. Additionally, applicants should have a basic knowledge of Hebrew, Bible, Jewish history, the prayer book, and customs of the synagogue.

Applicants must have pleasing voices and should be acquainted with the rudiments of music, such as ear-training, sight-singing, and the piano keyboard. Performance experience is also helpful.

Candidates who have not reached the required level of religious commitment, Judaic knowledge, or musical experience should make inquires to the dean concerning preparatory training.

Academic Programs

Cantorial students are candidates for the diploma of hazzan as well as for a master of sacred music degree. The course requires five years of full-time study. In addition to the course work, students must prepare a master's essay on a scholarly topic and present a concert of general and liturgical music as part of the graduation requirements.

With the permission of the deans of the schools involved, cantorial students may prepare concurrently for an MA in education at the Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education or an MA at The Graduate School.

Study Year in Israel

Students at H. L. Miller Cantorial School spend their first academic year in Israel. During this time, they strengthen their Hebrew-language skills, study Jewish texts, immerse themselves in contemporary Israeli life and culture, and begin their study of prayer chant (nusah) and cantillation. The music component of the program is tailored to meet the needs of each individual student.

Cantorial Curriculum

H. L. Miller Cantorial School offers courses in three major areas of study: general music, Jewish music, and Judaica texts. The curriculum includes:

Nusah: The traditional music of Jewish prayer. Classes in theory and performance as well as individual coaching in techniques and improvisation.
Cantillation: Tropes for the liturgical chanting of biblical books.
Sight-singing, ear-training, harmony, composition, and piano keyboard.
Liturgy: History and content of the prayer book.
Hebrew language.
Philosophy of religion.
History of Jewish music.
Jewish art-song repertoire.
Choral conducting.
Chorus.
Recital preparation.
Methods and materials in Jewish education: Acquaints students with materials available for music instruction in Jewish schools.

College of Jewish Music

A limited number of advanced students who are not preparing for the cantorate may be accepted into courses leading to a master's or doctorate of sacred music. Programs in Jewish music history, Jewish musicology, and composition are offered by the College of Jewish Music. Prospective students must be fluent in the Hebrew language and must have previously acquired at least an undergraduate degree in general music.

Sabin Family Music Center

The Sabin Family Music Center is housed in The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary. The center contains one of the finest collections of Jewish liturgical music, art song, and folk music in North America. With easy access to rare cantorial manuscripts and state-of-the-art recording and transcribing equipment, students are able to utilize modern technology. This enables them to hone their musical skills and acquire information and additional techniques for music scholarship.

The Faculty

Included in the faculties of H. L. Miller Cantorial School and College of Jewish Music are master hazzanim, musicologists, vocal experts, pianists, composers, liturgists, Bible and Talmud scholars, and experts in Jewish law and Hebrew language. Students are exposed to the most highly respected teachers in their respective fields. A premier faculty, small classes, and individualized instruction have made JTS the foremost institution for training Conservative hazzanim and Jewish music scholars in North America.

The Students

H. L. Miller Cantorial School and College of Jewish Music attracts students from all over the United States, as well as from Canada, Great Britain, Russia, Israel, Australia, and Brazil. Among the men and women enrolled in the school are recent college graduates, while others have pursued a number of endeavors prior to choosing the cantorate. Their undergraduate educational experiences are also varied. Students may have majored in music at academies in the United States and abroad or received liberal-arts or science degrees at major American or foreign schools. A number have acquired degrees in Jewish studies. Their common bond is the commitment to promote Jewish spirituality through music and religious living.

Life at JTS

The Jewish Theological Seminary, the academic and spiritual center of Conservative Judaism, is the home of H. L. Miller Cantorial School and College of Jewish Music. JTS is the foremost institution for the academic study of Judaism in North America. Its more than 600 students study and train for careers as rabbis, cantors, teachers, scholars, and communal workers.

Through daily exposure to the distinctive personalities of an exceptional faculty, students at JTS are nurtured in a traditional Jewish environment. In the spirit of free inquiry, they gain a genuine understanding and respect for Judaism and learn to apply traditional values to contemporary life.

New York City

H. L. Miller Cantorial School and College of Jewish Music is located in the world's most exhilarating metropolis. The school is situated on Manhattan's Upper West Side, adjacent to Columbia University and across the street from the Manhattan School of Music.

Students have access to a multitude of cultural and educational riches. Opportunities to hear the most prominent religious and secular musical talent abound. Programs at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and synagogues that sponsor concerts of cantorial and Jewish folk music complement the formal musical training.

The Jewish Theological Seminary