Benzion Miller (, ; 8 December 1947 – 3 February 2025) was a German-born American

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

, schochet (kosher slaughterer) and mohel (circumciser).

Early life and career

Miller was born in a displaced persons camp in Fernwald, Germany. Miller's singing career began at the age of five. Miller studied music theory and

solfège In music, solfège (British English or American English , ) or solfeggio (; ), also called sol-fa, solfa, solfeo, among many names, is a mnemonic used in teaching aural skills, Pitch (music), pitch and sight-reading of Western classical music, W ...

under Cantor Samuel B. Taube of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. 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 sang an operatic repertoire as well as Jewish and Chassidic folk music. He appeared with the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony, the Rishon L'Tzion Symphony, the Haifa Symphony and members of the London Symphony. He 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He appeared before capacity audiences in Romania, Russia, Poland and Hungary, where he sang with the Budapest State Opera Orchestra. Miller made many recordings of liturgical, Chassidic and Yiddish music. Miller held positions in Montreal at Sheves Achim Synagogue on Côte-des-Neiges, then in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

at Shaarei Tefillah Synagogue on Bathurst Street, in Canada. In 1981 he became cantor of Temple Beth El of Borough Park in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, a pulpit served by

Mordechai Hershman Mordecai Hershman (1888 – January 30, 1941) 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, and continued 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.

Personal life and death

Benzion's father, cantor, schochet and mohel Aaron Daniel Miller, was born in the Jewish community of

Oświęcim Oświęcim (; ; ; ) is a town in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland, situated southeast of Katowice, near the confluence of the Vistula (''Wisła'') and Soła rivers. Oświęcim dates back to the 12th century, when it was an im ...

(Yiddish: Oshpitsin, German: Auschwitz) in Poland. Aaron, his father and grandfather were cantors at the Bobover courts. Aaron's wife and children were murdered in

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps (), including subcamp (SS), subcamps on its own territory and in parts of German-occupied Europe. The first camps were established in March 1933 immediately af ...

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

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Germany. Benzion's son, cantor Shimmy Miller, was his choral director and they often performed duets with each other. Miller had five children; three daughters and two sons. He died on 3 February 2025, at the age of 77.

Discography

# ''"Cantor Benzion Miller Sings Cantorial Concert Masterpieces" – The Milken Archive of Jewish Music,

Naxos Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...

'' (18 May 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 1947 births 2025 deaths 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

Early life and career

Personal life and death

Discography

See also

External links

References