Establishment of a Cantor Certification Program to maintain the dignity of the canto-rate and to raise its standards of service to the American synagogue was announced today by the Hebrew Union School of Sacred Music, training school for cantors, and four other leading organizations functioning in the realm of temple music.
Sponsoring the Cantor Certification Program are the School of Sacred Music, the school’s Alumni Association, the Jewish Ministers-Cantors Association of the United States and Canada, the Board of American Hazan-Ministers, and the Society for the Advancement of Jewish Liturgical Music. The program will be launched with a business meeting, a dinner and formal exercises Thursday evening, as a climax to a week long Institute on Sacred Music now being held at the School of Sacred Music.
Upon certification, cantors automatically become members of a newly-organized American Conference of Certified Cantors, a professional organization which will be launched at Thursday’s ceremonies. The Conference will dedicate its efforts to lifting the standards of the canto-rate, raising the status and improving the security of the individual cantor and enriching divine worship through the ministry of sacred music. The Conference will also concern itself with placement, retirement and pension problems, the creation and distribution of better cantorial and choral materials for the synagogue, and related matters.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
