Azi Schwartz (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: עזי שוורץ) is a ''chazzan'' (cantor), vocal performer, and recording artist. Born in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, he lives in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where he serves as the Senior Cantor of

Park Avenue Synagogue The Park Avenue Synagogue ( he, אגודת ישרים, ''Agudat Yesharim'', The Association of the Righteous) is a Conservative Jewish congregation located at 50 East 87th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1882 ...

Education

Before his musical career, Cantor Schwartz attended

Yeshivat Har Etzion Yeshivat Har Etzion (YHE; ), commonly known in English as "Gush" and in Hebrew as "Yeshivat HaGush", is a hesder yeshiva located in Alon Shvut, an Israeli settlement in Gush Etzion. It is considered one of the leading institutions of advanced Tora ...

. He completed his military service as a soloist in the

Israeli Defense Forces Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

Rabbinical Troupe. Cantor Schwartz earned his undergraduate degree in Teaching Jewish Philosophy and Jewish Studies from the

Herzog College Herzog College ( he, מכללת הרצוג, ''Mikhlelet Herzog'') is an Israeli teachers' college with campuses in Jerusalem, Alon Shvut and Migdal Oz. History Herzog College is named for Yaakov Herzog, an Israeli diplomat, scholar and son of Isr ...

before studying at the

Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance ( he, האקדמיה למוסיקה ולמחול בירושלים), is a school for the music and the performing arts in Jerusalem. It is located on the Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusa ...

. He received his master's degree in Voice in Conducting from

Mannes School of Music Mannes School of Music is a music conservatory in The New School, a private research university in New York City. In the fall of 2015, Mannes moved from its previous location on Manhattan's Upper West Side to join the rest of the New School cam ...

The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

. Cantor Schwartz received his cantorial training at Tel Aviv Cantorial Institute, where he studied under Cantor Neftali Hershtik.

Professional Accomplishments

Cantor Azi Schwartz has performed at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

, the United Nations, and on Capitol Hill. Cantor Schwartz was featured as a part of a trio on a

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

special titled “Cantors of New York”. Cantor Schwartz performed a prayer for the

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

's visit to Ground Zero in 2015. He has performed at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

, including a duet with tenor

Lawrence Brownlee Lawrence Brownlee (born November 24, 1972) is an American operatic tenor particularly associated with the bel canto repertoire. Describing his voice, Speight Jenkins, general director of the Seattle Opera, said: "There are other singers that sing ...

. His videos are popular on

Youtube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

, with over 13 million views. During the 2020 pandemic, he led services for Park Avenue Synagogue livestream online, which attracted thousands of viewers.

Style

Cantor Azi Schwartz is known for mixing Jewish ritual music with contemporary melodies, with an intent of bringing new life to the tradition of Jewish liturgical music. He often will perform traditional prayers to contemporary melodies, including performing "

Adon Olam Adon Olam ( he, אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם; "Eternal Lord" or "Sovereign of the Universe") is a hymn in the Jewish liturgy. It has been a regular part of the daily and Shabbat (Sabbath) liturgy since the 15th century.Nulman, Macy, ''Encyclopedia o ...

" to the tune of " You'll be Back" from

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

and “For Forever” from

Dear Evan Hansen ''Dear Evan Hansen'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and a book by Steven Levenson. The musical follows Evan Hansen, a high school senior with social anxiety, "who invents an important role for himself in a t ...

, and Ose Shalom to the tune of “ Shallow” by

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

and Bradly Cooper.

Personal life

Cantor Azi Schwartz grew up in the Israeli settlement of

Alon Shvut Alon Shvut ( he, אַלּוֹן שְׁבוּת) is an Israeli settlement located southwest of Jerusalem, one kilometer northeast of Kfar Etzion, in the West Bank. Established in June 1970 in the heart of the Etzion bloc, Alon Shvut became the ...

Gush Etzion Gush Etzion ( he, גּוּשׁ עֶצְיוֹן, ' Etzion Bloc) is a cluster of Israeli settlements located in the Judaean Mountains, directly south of Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the West Bank. The core group includes four Jewish agricultural v ...

and studied in the

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Netiv Meir Yeshiva Netiv, a Hebrew word meaning ''path'', may refer to the following places in Israel: * Netiv HaGdud * Netiv HaLamed-Heh * Netiv HaShayara * Netiv HaAsara * Netiv Ha’avot See also * Netivot Netivot ( he, נְתִיבוֹת, "''paths''", ...

. He was inspired to become a cantor through his grandfather, who was a cantor in Hungary. He enjoys riding motorcycles as a hobby. He is married to Dr. Noa Schwartz with four children.

Discography

* Be The Light * Siddur for Young Families * Havdalah: Live from Jerusalem * Heritage: Treasures of Jewish German Composers * Moments of Awe: Music of the High Holy Days * L’dor Vador * Yihyu L’ratzon * Mizmor Shir * Hadesh Yameinu: New Music at Park Avenue Synagogue * Shir Hadash: New Music at Park Avenue Synagogue * Ahavat Olam: Jewish Romantic Music * Ki Eshmerah Shabbat - Volume 1: Shabbat Morning * Mahzor for Young Families: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur * Youth Machzor 2018 * Siddur for Youth

References

Hazzans {{DEFAULTSORT:Schwartz, Azi Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Yeshivat Har Etzion