Ehud (Udi) Spielman (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: אהוד (אודי) שפילמן; born on December 4, 1951) is an Israeli singer and ''

hazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' (, plural ; ; ) is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who leads the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this prayer leader is often referred to as a cantor, a term al ...

''. He came to Chazzanut (cantorial music) after a long career as a singer and performer in Israel. He has published several CDs and DVDs. His music is featured in the Florida Atlantic University Judaica Sound Archives and will soon also be in the Dartmouth Jewish Sound Archives.

Early life

Udi Spielman was born in 1951 in

Tel-Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. He is the great-grandson of Zerach Barnett, a

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

activist, settling first

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva (, ), also spelt Petah Tiqwa and known informally as Em HaMoshavot (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of the Old Y ...

and the initiator and founder of Neve Shalom Tel-Aviv. Both of Spielman's grandfathers were cantors. Spielman studied at

HaKfar HaYarok HaKfar HaYarok - Levi Eshkol Green Village () is a youth village in Israel, located in southern Ramat HaSharon, along the northern border of Tel Aviv. Name Gershon Zak, the founder of the village, called it in 1950 "Green Village", without a de ...

, an agricultural high school. After graduation, he entered the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

(IDF) and served as a soloist and singer in the

Israeli Air Force Band The Israeli Air Force Band (IAF Band) () is the principal musical ensemble of the Israeli Air Force, a service branch of the Israel Defense Force (IDF). History The Israeli Air Force Band was established in May 1948. It was directed by Erich Te ...

Pop Music career

Following his honorable discharge from the IDF, Spielman recorded songs as a soloist. In 1978, Spielman performed the song "Nesich haChlomot" (נסיך החלומות, Dream Prince), better known as "Valentino" along with Zvi Bums and

Gali Atari Gali Atari (; born 29 December 1953) is an Israeli singer and actress. Atari won the Eurovision Song Contest 1979 which was held in Jerusalem, as part of Milk and Honey. Early life Atari was born as Abigail Atari (Hebrew: אביגיל עטרי) ...

, at the Festival Hazemer Ha'ivri (Israel Song Festival), the Israeli qualification heat for the

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster submits an origina ...

Song Contest. The song placed third. Spielman then created the band "Afifon" (Kite), which appeared in the 1980 Israel Song Festival performing the song "1980" (lyrics by Jacob Gilad, music by

Yehudit Ravitz Yehudit Ravitz ( ; born December 29, 1956) is an Israeli singer-songwriter, composer, arranger, and music producer. Active since the 1970s, she is considered one of the prominent figures in Israeli popular music. Music career Ravitz was born in ...

). In the same year, he appeared in the Chassidic Song Festival, and recorded two songs for their album of the same name. Later he founded the "Udi Spielman Band" which was Israel's most acclaimed and successful pop orchestra for twenty years performing both in Israel and abroad, and became the house band for Israel's first commercial TV channel for the Israel Broadcasting Services.

Cantorial career

In 2000, Spielman retired his performing groups in order to study Chazzanut. He studied at and graduated from the Tel Aviv Cantorial Institute (TACI), administered by Cantor

Naftali Hershtik Naftali Herstik (; 24 March 1947 – 1 September 2024) was a Hungarian-born Israeli ''ḥazzan'', who served as Chief Cantor of the Great Synagogue of Jerusalem. He was regarded as an authority on central European Ashkenazy melodic liturgy. E ...

, the Chief Cantor of the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem. Afterwards, Herstik referred Spielman to another teacher, who put him in touch with the greatest cantorial pianist, Raymond Goldstein. Chaim Feifel also added much to Udi's education as well. Besides his Cantorial services as a Hazzan, Udi has also performed in Cantorial concerts with the most highly regarded Hazzanim of our time. He also previously served as Artistic Director for the Concert Series of B’nai Torah Congregation, the largest

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Synagogue in the SE United States. Since beginning his cantorial career, Spielman has launched one solo Cantorial CD (Seven – Voice and Spirit) and two liturgical music CDs (A still Small Voice and Set Me as a Seal) with his wife, Varda Noga Spielman, former singer with the Northern Command and the popular 80's girl's band Sexsta, as well as a concert DVD in 2012.

Discography

* 2004 Seven Voice and Spirit * 2008 A Still Small Voice * 2008 Set me as a Seal * 2012 Udi and Varda Spielman in Concert 2012

References

External links