Cantor Singer’s magnificent voice, vibrant spirit and warm presence enrich our congregation’s spiritual, educational and communal experiences.
Cantor Daniel Singer has served Stephen Wise Free Synagogue since July of 2006 as the third cantor in the history of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue. Formerly serving the pulpits of Temple Shaaray Tefila in Manhattan, Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in Manhattan, Brooklyn Heights Synagogue,Temple Adas Israel of Sag Harbor, and Temple Beth El of Bloomfield Hills Michigan, he brings great enthusiasm and energy both on the pulpit and as an administrator of many enriching and exciting music programs and concerts.
Drawing on a wide-ranging knowledge of Jewish music, Cantor Singer is as comfortable singing an 18th-century classical liturgical repertoire or leading the congregation in traditional Hasidic or Sephardic melodies as he is performing Jewish pop acapella with SIX13 or singing roles with the Yiddish Theater or opera. “A singing community” is one of Cantor Singer’s major goals, and together with Rabbi Hirsch has implemented a revolutionary model of worship for the congregation that has earned accolades from Jewish professionals and congregants of diverse religious backgrounds and demographics. If he is in the building, you will probably hear him singing — in the offices, corridors, and stairways, as well as the sanctuary. He has participated in numerous recording projects and has been recognized for the publications of his original compositions through Transcontinental Music Publications.
Cantor Singer majored in music and mass communication at the University of Wisconsin in Superior and holds master’s degrees in vocal performance from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and in sacred music from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion School of Sacred Music in Jerusalem and Manhattan. Before entering the cantorate, he was voice department chair, opera workshop director, and head start coordinator at the Flint School for the Performing Arts, and a resident artist with the Toledo Opera and other regional and international vocal arts programs including the Israel Vocal Arts and Brevard Music Center. Today, he continues his professional development through advanced coursework in arts administration at New York University and affiliation and participation in the American Conference of Cantors and Cantor’s Assembly, and he also continues to participate in numerous cantorial concerts, oratorio, and recitals throughout the country and abroad.
Recent Commentaries and Op-Eds
CBS New York: Dressing up, eating sweets and giving back are all part of Purim celebration in New York City
Mar 6, 2023
From parodies of Billy Joel songs to musicals like “Mamma Mia,” for more than three decades the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue on West 68th Street has been telling the story of Purim through its annual “Purim Spiel.” Our Cantor Dan Singer, Rabbi Dalia Samansky and Purim spiel assistant director and costume coordinator Eileen Remor explain the holiday and our Stephen Wise Free Synaoguge’s spieling tradition.
Forward: Her great-grandfather led Israel. She’ll be leading a congregation
Jun 28, 2022
Inbal Sharett-Singer, who was mentored by her brother-in-law — our Cantor Dan Singer — and who has led services on our bimah here at Stephen Wise, will be taking over as the senior cantor at Temple Israel in Minneapolis.
Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle: From Superior to Manhattan – Wisconsin native’s journey to cantor at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue
Apr 14, 2022
Daniel Singer, a Wisconsin native, has been a cantor at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York City, a historic place of worship, for 16 years. His journey has taken him from growing up without Jewish community to serving a synagogue in Manhattan.
TwinCities.com: A Minnesota connection to Ukraine: Bob Dylan’s paternal grandparents fled persecution in Russian Empire
Apr 3, 2022
Our Cantor Dan Singer spoke with TwinCities.com about his historical and genealogical research into Bob Dylan’s ancestry.
Times of Israel: Ancestry Unites a Symphony of Singers for Ukraine Crisis Relief
Mar 30, 2022
In his Times of Israel blog, our Cantor Dan Singer writes about how he discovered he is related to Manhattan Symphonie founder Gregory Singer, whom we’ve partnering with for a concert supporting Ukraine relief efforts.
Duluth News Tribune: Old library, Bob Dylan at crossroads of Superior history
Feb 3, 2022
In the Duluth News Tribune, our Cantor Dan Singer explores the ancestral crossroads of Bob Dylan, John Hammond and Highway 61 converging in his hometown of Superior, Wisconsin.
Times of Israel: It Ain’t Necessarily So: Guy Mintus Sings Gershwin
Nov 20, 2021
In his Times of Israel blog, our Cantor Dan Singer analyzes Israeli jazz musician Guy Minuts’s unique take on “It Ain’t Necessarily So” from “Porgy and Bess.”
Detroit Jewish News: My Superior (Wis.) Jewish Genealogy
Nov 2, 2021
Our Cantor Dan Singer follows up on his last article about his hometown hero, Jewish baseball player Morrie Arnovitch, with some exciting genealogical discoveries…
A World Series of Genealogical Discoveries
Oct 26, 2021
In Times of Israel, our Cantor Dan Singer follows up on last his article about his hometown hero, Jewish baseball player Morrie Arnovitch, with some exciting genealogical discoveries…
The Forward: Morrie Arnovich, not Jacob Steinmetz, was baseball’s first Orthodox player
Jul 26, 2021
When the media overlooked the first Orthodox Jewish baseball player, Morrie Arnovich, our Cantor Dan Singer set the record straight about one of his hometown heroes and shared some of Superior, Wisconsin’s rich history in an article he wrote for The Forward.
The Riverdale Press: Riverdale Temple cantor rediscovers herself in music
Oct 27, 2019
Our Cantor Daniel Singer’s sister-in-law, Inbal Sharrett-Singer, was profiled in The Riverdale Press ahead of “Cantor and Friends,” a concert they’ll be performing together along with other cantors this November 10.
Broadway World: Music Group Afro-Semitic Experience To Perform First Manhattan Selichot Service In Over A Decade
Sep 5, 2019
Acclaimed multicultural musical group The Afro-Semitic Experience will give its first Selichot performance in Manhattan in more than a decade on Saturday, Sept. 21, at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue.
Broadway World: Stephen Wise To Host Mieczyslaw Weinberg Centennial Concert
Mar 15, 2019
Stephen Wise Free Synagogue will host a concert May 19 celebrating the centennial of prolific Polish-Jewish composer Mieczyslaw Weinberg. The program will feature Weinberg’s “24 Preludes for Solo Cello” performed by Yosif Feigelson, Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” with pianist Ilya Yakushev, and several of Weinberg’s Yiddish songs performed by Stephen Wise Cantor Daniel Singer.
