Harold Orbach Papers

Manuscript Collection No. 690

1957-2001. 2.7 Linear ft.

ACCESS AND PROVENANCE
The Harold Orbach Papers were received from Cantor Orbach, West Bloomfield, Michigan, in 2001. Property rights to the materials are held by the American Jewish Archives. Literary rights have not been dedicated to the public. Literary rights to materials authored by Orbach are held by him, others are held by the individual author or his/her heirs. Questions concerning rights should be addressed to the Director of the American Jewish Archives.
The Harold Orbach Papers are open to all users. The original manuscript collection is available in the reading room of the American Jewish Archives.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH top
Harold Orbach was born March 31, 1931 in Dusseldorf, Germany. He immigrated to America in 1940 after being smuggled out of Germany via the Kindertransport to England. His concert career began with a performance at New York’s Town Hall at age 18. He served his first congregation as a cantor when he was only fifteen prior to the establishment of any school that trained cantors in this country.
The cantor at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan for 41 years, Orbach graduated from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion’s School of Sacred Music where he also received an honorary doctorate degree. Orbach was a winner of the Katherine Long Scholarship to the Juilliard School of Music and earned a Masters’ degree from the University of Oklahoma. He served as president of the American Conference of Cantors and was recipient of the Metropolitan Detroit’s 2001 Benard L. Maas Foundation prize for Achievement in Jewish Culture and Continutity. His voice appears on fourteen recordings and has been used as background for films.

Orbach has appeared in concerts from Germany to Cuba to Japan and from New York's Lincoln Center to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. He appeared in a special concert at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and participated in the 350th anniversary of the founding of the oldest synagogue in the Western Hemisphere in Curacao. In addition to taking part in Jerusalem's commemoration of 3,000 years and receiving the State of Israel Culture Medal by the late Golda Meir, he earned the title as one of "the most celebrating cantors."

Cantor Orbach appeared in many world premiere performances, including the first symphony performance of Leonard Bernstein's “Dybbuk Variations,” Dave Brubeck's “The Gates of Justice,” Martin Kalmanoff's “A Victory at Masada,” Chajes' “Out of the Desert,” and Ellstein's “The Thief and the Hangman.” Having sung at Israel's 25th and 50th birthday celebrations in the Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv, in Caesaria, and in Jerusalem, he participated in the 100th anniversary celebrations of both the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and the Hebrew Union College, the city of Detroit's 300th birthday, and at the U.S. bicentennial concert in Philadelphia, appearing with Dave Brubeck and Ella Fitzgerald. He was also the leading tenor of the American Savoyards and the Piccolo Opera Company. His numerous ecumenical appearances include participation in the International Eucharistic Congress and interfaith celebrations in the Washington Episcopal Cathedral.

Harold Orbach is an innovative cantor who embraced the “New Sound” of religion. He gave the first published performance of a jazz service in a synagogue when he sang Davidson's “And David Danced Before the Ark.” He chanted Raymond Smolover's “Rock Service Edge of Freedom,” as well as Gershon Kingsley's service with psychedelic lights and the Moog synthesizer, Shabbat for Today.

The New York Times has described Orbach’s voice as “sweet-toned singing,” while the Cincinnati Post portrays him as “a great tenor voice that shines in every repertoire.” The Metropolitan Opera News exclaimed that he sang with “rich and vibrant tones.”
Harold Orbach married his wife Evelyn on June 24, 1951. Evelyn Orbach is a trained actress and Artistic Director for the Jewish Ensemble Theater, at the Detroit Jewish Community Center. They have three daughters: Sharon, Judith, and Lila, and one son Richard.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE top

The Harold Orbach Papers consist of papers related to the professional career of Harold Orbach, who has worked as a cantor for over 50 years. His first post was as a cantor in Tulsa, Oklahoma and he served at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan for over 40 years.
The Orbach papers include performance programs both at Temple Israel and at other venues, together with sound recordings and a press file. Cantor Orbach has performed with the Dave Brubeck Trio and Ella Fitzgerald, as well as other cantors for the American Conference of Cantors and the International Jewish Library of Music series. Orbach has also been the recipient of numerous awards and honors, which this collection also reflects.

The papers are divided into two (2) series:

A. NEWSPAPER ARTICLES, PERFORMANCE PROGRAMS, DEGREES, AND AWARDS

B. AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS

Series A. NEWSPAPER ARTICLES, PERFORMANCE PROGRAMS, DEGREES AND AWARDS. The newspaper series contains news clippings and bulletins that chronicle Cantor Orbach’s career and marriage to Evelyn Orbach, as well programs that chart Orbach’s performances both as a cantor and as a classically trained tenor. Series A. also contains miscellaneous awards, teaching certificates, and degrees Orbach received during his career. The series is arranged chronologically.

Series B. AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS. The audiovisual series consists of LP recordings featuring Cantor Orbach, including The Gates of Justice by the Dave Brubeck Trio, which is considered a seminal recording demonstrating the musical merger of jazz style with religious context.

BOX AND FOLDER LISTING top
  Box	Folder 			Contents

SERIES A. NEWSPAPER ARTICLES, PERFORMANCE PROGRAMS, DEGREES  AND AWARDS

1	1		Biographical news items and press releases.
	2		Temple Israel music performance programs. 1957-2001
	3		Temple Israel concert and lecture series programs. 1990-2001
	4		Programs for non-Temple Israel performances, 1966-1986		
	5		Degrees; certifications. n.d.
	6		Awards; commendations. n.d.
	7		Thesis, 1959

X-456		Awards; commendations. Oversized. n.d.
                    
SERIES B. AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS

	7		"Music of the High Holy Days," performed by Harold Orbach
	8		"Music of Temple," conducted by Samuel Adler, featuring Harold Orbach 
	9		"Gates Of Justice," performed by Dave Brubeck with Harold Orbach. Sunday, December 7, 1967.
	10		"Modern Sound of Three Faiths," featuring Harold Orbach, Rev. Diern J. Geard,  and Rev. Tom Grady. Autumn, 1969.
	11		"American Conference of Cantors Presents Highlights of 18/"Chai Life" Gala Concert. Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Sunday, April 4, 1971.
	12		"American Conference of Cantors presents Highlights of Israel's 25th Anniversary In Concert," Mann Auditorium Caersarea Ampitheater Binyenei Ha'ooma, Summer, 1973.
	13		International Jewish Music Library Presents "Cantica Hebraica." Alice Tully Center, Lincoln Center, November 1974. Featuring Harold Orbach.
	14		"Masterpieces of the American Synagogue," with Harold Orbach, the Kenneth Jewell Chorale and Chamber Orchestra. Eric Freudigman, Conductor. 1980.
	
 
  
top
Copyright © 2003 The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives