Academic Resources for Prospective Jewish Music Scholars

Studying Jewish Music in Graduate School

So, you think you want to study the music or sound of Jewish experience in graduate school, but don’t know where to start? Fear not! There is a global community of diverse scholars, institutions, and organizations that are waiting to welcome you!

As a young Jewish vocalist who applied to graduate school in the final year of my undergraduate degree at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, I had no idea where to begin my search for the right graduate school programs that would welcome my interest in Jewish music studies. I knew that I wanted to investigate a topic related to opera and Jewish history, but I didn’t know where to start looking for the contacts and institutions that would be willing to support me.

Below, with the permission of all individuals included, I’ve compiled a list of prospective mentors in Canada, the United States, England, and Israel that will be receptive to discussing the study of Jewish music in their graduate programs with you.

Please keep in mind that this list is intended only as a starting point. I absolutely encourage you to conduct your own networking with these and other industry professionals, and to read the bios (and publications!) of each scholar to determine if there is overlap in your areas of interest. Likewise, if you are aware of other prospective mentors who are not included on my list, please contact me.

Contacts Supportive of Jewish Music Scholarship
(at institutions with graduate school programs; all links are to email addresses unless otherwise specified)

Indiana University: Dr. Judah Cohen (web page), Dr. Halina Goldberg

New York University: Dr. Michael Beckerman, Dr. Brigid Cohen

Northwestern University: Dr. Jesse Rosenberg

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem: Dr. Assaf Shelleg

The University of Chicago: Dr. Philip Bohlman

The University of Toronto: Dr. Caryl Clark

University of California, Los Angeles: Dr. Mark Kligman

University of Georgia: Dr. Naomi Graber

Other Contacts Supportive of Jewish Music Scholarship
(at institutions without graduate school programs)

Berklee College: Dr. Judith Pinnolis

Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion: Dr. Gordon Dale

Rutgers University: Dr. Rebecca Cypess

SOAS, University of London: Dr. Alexander Knapp

Vanderbilt University: Dr. Joy Calico

Please note that the resources compiled above primarily relate to the academic study of Jewish music. For resources pertaining to Cantorial Training and Jewish Music Performance, please visit the Jewish Music WebCenter.

Looking for Jewish Music Academic Programming and/or a Social Community?

Join my “private” Facebook group Graduate Students and Young Professionals Studying Jewish Music. Contact me to request an invitation to join the group.

Check out the programming of the Jewish Music Forum, A Project of the American Society for Jewish Music. I have served as this organization’s Associate Executive Director for the past five years, and all of our programming is free and open to the public.

Check out the “Conversations on Zoom” of the International Forum for Jewish Music Studies.

Join the American Musicological Society's Jewish Studies and Music Study Group and/or the Society for Ethnomusicology's Special Interest Group for Jewish Music for exciting conference programming.