Raphael Frieder

Interim Director, H. L. Miller Cantorial School

Email: rafrieder@jtsa.edu

Cantor Raphael Frieder, interim director of the H. L. Miller Cantorial School, brings to JTS a wealth of experience and a distinguished career in music, singing, hazzanut, and choral conducting. He has been a longtime presence as a faculty member, coach, and mentor for JTS cantorial students.  

Born in Israel, Cantor Frieder studied singing and choral conducting at the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel Aviv. He has performed with the New Israeli Opera as well as with all of Israel’s major orchestras. Cantor Frieder has toured extensively in Israel, Europe, and the United States, and has appeared in such diverse venues as New York’s Carnegie Hall and the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. He has worked with some of the world’s leading conductors, including Zubin Mehta and Roger Norrington, and was selected by Leonard Bernstein to perform the world premiere of Bernstein’s “Arias and Barcarolles.”

Cantor Frieder has made numerous recordings for Israel National Radio, has appeared on many television programs both in Israel and the U.S., and appeared in the role of the Cantor in the hit film “Keeping the Faith.” He served as Cantor at Temple Israel of Great Neck for almost 30 years from 1991 until his retirement in 2020.