Cantor Joseph Ness
Cantor Joseph Ness of Beth El Temple, West Hartford, is also a composer, arranger and conductor, whose music is performed extensively throughout the United States, Europe, South America and Israel. He has composed, orchestrated and arranged over 450 pieces of music spanning both the liturgical and concert genres and created many orchestral programs with cantorial solos and choral pieces with narration such as The Voice of Jewish Russia, Vanished Voices, and The Wisdom of Chelm. In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the State of Israel, Lyrical Israel, a CD, was produced.
Cantor Ness has been commissioned by major musical figures such as Lukas Foss and Fred Sherry and has composed and arranged for the leading hazzanim of our time. He has been commissioned by many orchestras and ensembles, including the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Milwaukee Symphony, Fort Lauderdale Symphony, Los Angeles Jewish Symphony, Manchester Orchestra (England), American Symphony Orchestra, Jerusalem Great Synagogue Choir and The Group for Contemporary Music. His music has been performed at the Conservative Movement Convention in Washington D.C. with the Washington Festival Orchestra.
Cantor Ness produces several major orchestral concerts annually featuring the Beth El Choir and Orchestra. Because of his inspiring programming, Beth El Temple was the recipient of the National Solomon Schechter Award for Excellence in the Performing Arts in 2003 and again in 2005.
Cantor Ness is also the Composer in Residence for the New Haven Chorale 2006-7 Season and is an adjunct Instructor in Jewish Music at Hebrew College in Newton, Massachusetts. In 2004, Cantor Ness composed “Jacob’s Ladder” as part of a series of musical interpretations of biblical stories. “The Akedah” was performed in April 2005. The third composition in that series, “Sarah and Hagar” was premiered at the University of Hartford in April 2006.