Shimon Smith, Cantorial Soloist/Artist in Residence
Born in South Korea (yes really!), raised in Hoboken until the age of 5 and then in Israel until – now, Shimon is excited to be back in his home state. After serving in the IDF as an officer he spent 2 years in Alabama working as a Jewish Agency shaliach.
He studied music at the Rimon School for Music and Jazz and holds a BA in Jewish Studies and History. Shimon is one of the leading Song leaders / Cantorial Soloists in Israel. He was Cantorial Soloist and head of the B’nai Mitzvah program at The Daniel Centers for Reform Judaism in Tel Aviv for 13 years. He was also the spiritual leader of Tlamim, the Reform movement’s young adult chapter, the Reform movement’s gap-year Mechina program and Noar-Telem (Israel’s NFTY).
He was Co-music director of IMPJ (Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism) biennial, And the musical director for the Jewish Agency’s Summer Shlichim program for years.
He writes original Jewish music (look for him on Spotify), and was featured in Transcontinental music publications and PJ Library. He is also the host of “Best in Israeli Rock” on Jewish Rock Radio.
Shimon voice dubs characters in the Israeli versions of cartoon movies and tv shows. Some notable ones are Scar from The Lion King 2019 and Peppa Pig from Peppa Pig.
