Cantor David Frommer
A musical leader with a global perspective
Cantor David Frommer became part of the Sherith Israel family on July 1, 2016. He grew up in Manhattan and, following his family’s move, graduated from high school in Kentucky. He received his B.A. with honors in History from Yale University. There, he sang with Magevet, Yale’s Jewish A Cappella Group, performing across the US and internationally in Canada, Europe and the UK. After college, David volunteered for fifteen months as a combat soldier in the Nachal Infantry Division of the Israel Defense Forces, where he served with distinction in the West Bank.
During the next five years he pursued his cantorial studies at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion's Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music in New York. He also trained as a chaplain at the US Army Chaplain Center and School at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.
Following his investiture, Cantor Frommer deployed overseas as the first cantor to serve as a chaplain in the US military. He provided religious support for Jewish soldiers and civilians stationed in Afghanistan, Kuwait, Jordan and Qatar. In the US, he has served synagogues in Plano, Texas; Port Washington, New York; and Santa Rosa, California. While leading the music program and engaging in a variety of clerical activities at Sherith Israel, he is excited to continue serving the soldiers of the California Army National Guard.
Cantor Frommer’s approach to Jewish worship favors spirited communal participation with moments for cantorial expression and musical dialogue between the cantor and the congregation. He cites strong influences by melodic traditions of Jewish composers as diverse as Louis Lewandowski from 19th-century Germany and Shlomo Carlebach from 20th-century America. He enjoys using a variety of methods to teach melodies and the Hebrew words that accompany them.
Cantor Frommer is married to Rabbi Carla Fenves, who serves at our nearby sister synagogue Congregation Emanu-El. They have three children: older brother Aaron and twins Eliana and Talia.
