Eitan Kantor is a musician, educator and composer based in Saint Louis, MO. Through the creation of both religious and secular Jewish music, he works to inspire social action rooted in Jewish values. He channels music through his fiddle, his singing voice and the collective singing voice of the community. His music is rooted in musical traditions of Eastern Europe and sends branches skyward towards the potential of the present moment. Employing organizing skills as well as performance background, Eitan uses the unifying power of group song and dance to galvanize crowds into action. As a cantorial soloist, klezmer dance party stoker, virtual choir facilitator and youth educator, Eitan raises up curiosity, playfulness and faith in the ability of each person to be an essential thread in the communal musical tapestry. Some of his projects have included:
-Singing and fiddling with the klezmer fusion band, Hadgaba, with whom he recorded the album, “E.P. (Ershter Prubirn)”
-Completing a 9-month artistic residency at Hadar’s Rising Song Institute
-Composing 11 songs for a soon-to-be-released major motion picture set in 1st century Jerusalem
-Serving as a High Holidays cantorial soloist for nine years at large and medium-sized Conservative congregations
-Helping to found Colorado Nigun Collective, a group which pairs singing with social justice actions
-Helping to develop a guitar curriculum for JamJews which raises up compositions by composers from marginalized groups
-Serving as music director at Congregation Bonai Shalom in Boulder, Colorado
-Fiddling with the bands Fi$cal Driftwood, The Old New Music of Ami Yares and Michelle Allen and Friends
Eitan’s teachers include Joey Weisenberg, Rabbi Yosef Goldman, Jake Shulman-Ment, Cantor Sharon Nathanson, Dot Levine and Cantor Jack Kessler. Eitan’s non-musical interests include salsa dancing, playing in the mountains and being as silly as possible.