Itzchok Reev "Ray" Smolover (January 15, 1921 – September 11, 2015) was an American vocal pedagogist,

voice teacher A voice teacher or singing teacher is a musical instructor who assists adults and children in the development of their abilities in singing. Typical work A voice teacher works with a student singer to improve the various skills involved in singi ...

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

librettist A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

opera director Crossbreed is an American industrial metal band from Clearwater, Florida, United States, formed in 1996. They were signed with Artemis Records before being dropped from the label in 2003. The band released two EPs and three full-length albums b ...

, and

hazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' ( he, חַזָּן , plural ; Yiddish ''khazn''; Ladino ''Hasan'') is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this pr ...

Biography

He was a graduate of

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. One of his notable students was

Richard Kiley Richard Paul Kiley (March 31, 1922 – March 5, 1999) was an American stage, film and television actor and singer. He is best known for his distinguished theatrical career in which he twice won the Tony Award for Best Actor In A Musical. Kiley ...

. He is the author of several publications on the art of singing, including ''The Singer’s Handbook'', ''Vocal Behavior Analysis and Modification'', and ''Sing Your Best''. Smolover founded and directed the Opera Theatre of Westchester, which in the late 1950s and early 60s commissioned and produced six chamber operas on Jewish themes and performed them throughout the Midwest and East Coast of the United States. Smolover wrote the libretti and performed leading roles for all six operas. Included among the operas was Chelm (1956), as set to music by

Robert Strassburg Robert Strassburg (August 30, 1915 – October 25, 2003) was a leading American conductor, composer, musicologist and music educator of the twentieth century. His studies in music were completed under the supervision of such leading composers a ...

Though a cantor and singer devoted primarily to performing music by others, Smolover composed a cantata, several art songs and liturgical settings, and: two folk rock sacred services: Edge of Freedom (a Sabbath eve service, 1967) and Gates of Freedom (a Torah service, 1970). As he explained in an oral history session, he was inspired by hearing Bob Dylan records that his son played at home. Certain aspects of Dylan's vocal delivery reminded him of the way Jews daven, or pray, in synagogue. Smolover served as cantor for more than 40 years at Congregation Kol Ami in White Plains, New York. He was also the executive vice president of the American Conference of Cantors for over three decades. He died on September 11, 2015 in

Scarsdale, New York Scarsdale is a town and village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The Town of Scarsdale is coextensive with the Village of Scarsdale, but the community has opted to operate solely with a village government, one of several village ...

References

1921 births 2015 deaths Voice teachers American opera librettists American opera directors Carnegie Mellon University alumni Columbia University alumni 20th-century American Jews Hazzans 21st-century American Jews {{US-music-bio-stub