Benzion Miller ( he, בֶּן צִיּוֹן מילר, yi, בֶּן־צִיּוֹן מי(ל)לעֶר, 8 December 1947) is a

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

schochet Schochet or Shochet is a surname, from the Hebrew language, Hebrew word for "ritual slaughterer". Notable persons with that name include: *Aryeh Leib Schochet (1845-1928), Russian rabbi *Avraham Shochat (born 1936), Israelis, Israeli former politi ...

and

mohel A ( he, מוֹהֵל , Ashkenazi pronunciation , plural: , arc, מוֹהֲלָא , "circumciser") is a Jew trained in the practice of , the "covenant of circumcision". Etymology The noun ( in Aramaic), meaning "circumciser", is derived fro ...

, much like his father, Aaron Daniel Miller. He was born in a

displaced persons camp A refugee camp is a temporary Human settlement, settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for interna ...

Fernwald Fernwald is a municipality in the German state of Hesse, located 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of Frankfurt am Main and 4.4 miles (7 kilometers) east of Gießen Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland' ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Miller's singing career began at the age of five. Miller studied music theory and

solfège In music, solfège (, ) or solfeggio (; ), also called sol-fa, solfa, solfeo, among many names, is a music education method used to teach aural skills, Pitch (music), pitch and sight-reading of Western classical music, Western music. Solfège is ...

under Cantor Samuel B. Taube of

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. He studied voice production at the Champagne School for Music in Montreal and with Dr. Puggell, cantor Avshalom Zfira, and Allan Bowers. As an interpreter of liturgical music, Benzion Miller is equally at home in operatic repertoire and Jewish and Chassidic folk music. He has appeared with the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony, the Rishon L'Tzion Symphony, the Haifa Symphony and members of the London Symphony. He has also recorded for the Milken Archive, in Barcelona, Spain with the Barcelona National Symphony Orchestra. Miller was among the first group of cantors to visit and sing in Eastern European countries after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He has appeared before capacity audiences in Romania, Russia, Poland and Hungary, where he sang with the Budapest State Opera Orchestra. Miller has to his credit many recordings of liturgical, Chassidic and Yiddish music. Miller has held positions in Montreal at Sheves Achim Synagogue on

Côte-des-Neiges Côte-des-Neiges (, ) is a neighbourhood of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at the geographic centre of the Island of Montreal on the western slope of Mount Royal and is part of the borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. Côt ...

, then in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

at Shaarei Tefillah Synagogue on Bathurst Street, in Canada. Since 1981, he has been cantor of

Temple Beth El of Borough Park Temple Beth El of Borough Park, now known as Young Israel Beth El of Borough Park, is a historic synagogue at 4802 15th Avenue in Borough Park, Brooklyn, New York. Buildings Founded as ''Congregation Beth El of Borough Park'' in August, 1902, ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, a pulpit served by

Mordechai Hershman Mordecai Hershman (1888 – January 30, 1940) was a Ukraine, Ukrainian-born American Jewish cantor (church), cantor ("chazzan") and singer. Biography Mordechai Hershman was born in Chernihiv in the Chernigov Governorate of the Russian Empire (p ...

, Berele Chagy and

Moshe Koussevitzky Moshe Koussevitzky ( he, משה קוסביצקי, pl, Mosze Kusewicki; June 9, 1899 in Smarhoń, Russian Empire – August 23, 1966 in New York City) was a cantor and vocalist. A relative of noted conductor Sergei Koussevitzky, he made many rec ...

. He continues to serve as cantor of the synagogue, now Congregation Young Israel Beth El after its merger with Young Israel of Boro Park. Miller made an appearance in '' A Cantor's Tale'', a documentary about Jackie Mendelson. Miller and Mendelson are shown greeting each other and briefly engaging in conversation.

Family

Benzion's father, cantor, schochet and mohel, Reb Aaron Daniel Miller (1911–2000) was born in the Jewish community of

Oświęcim Oświęcim (; german: Auschwitz ; yi, אָשפּיצין, Oshpitzin) is a city in the Lesser Poland ( pl, Małopolska) province of southern Poland, situated southeast of Katowice, near the confluence of the Vistula (''Wisła'') and Soła rive ...

(Yiddish: Oshpitsin, German: Auschwitz) in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. Aaron, his father and grandfather were cantors at the

Bobover Bobov (or Bobover Hasidism) ( he, חסידות באבוב, yi, בּאָבּאָװ) is a Hasidic community within Haredi Judaism, originating in Bobowa, Galicia, in southern Poland, and now headquartered in the neighborhood of Borough Park, in B ...

courts. Aaron's wife and children were killed in

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...

. Aaron met Benzion's mother, who was from the Belz hasidic dynasty, after the war in a

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. Benzion's son, cantor Shimmy Miller, is his choral director and they often performs duets with each other. Miller has 5 children, three daughters and two sons.

Discography

# ''"Cantor Benzion Miller Sings Cantorial Concert Masterpieces" – The

Milken Archive of Jewish Music The Milken Archive of Jewish Music is a collection of material about the history of Jewish Music in the United States. It contains roughly 700 recorded musical works, 800 hours of oral histories, 50,000 photographs and historical documents, an ext ...

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best abr ...

'' (May 18, 2004; International: January 2005) # ''"HASC – Jerusalem The Experience"'' (2004) # ''"High Holidays"'' (1997) # ''"Shabbat"''(1995) # ''"I Believe" () # ''"The Soul Is Yours"'' # ''"The Two In Harmony"''

External links

Benzion Miller's profile on the Milken Archive of Jewish Music"

Video: Interview with Benzion Miller
; About Aaron Miller:
Aaron Miller's profile on the Milken Archive of Jewish Music

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Benzion 1946 births Living people Hazzans American tenors Bobov (Hasidic dynasty) American expatriates in Canada Polish expatriates in Germany American Orthodox Jews American people of Polish-Jewish descent Polish Orthodox Jews Musicians from Brooklyn

Family

Discography

See also

External links

References