AJ 2023 Music Festival

Since July of 2020, Daniel Mendelson has served as senior cantor of Congregation Kol Ami in White Plains, NY. A graduate of the Cantors Assembly’s Cantorial Intern Program, and the son of two distinguished cantors, Daniel was introduced to Jewish music and opera from a young age. Before arriving at Kol Ami, Daniel served as Cantor of Congregation B’nai Sholom-Beth David in Rockville Centre, New York for 8 years, where he brought engaging musical programming and innovative worship to that community. 

Daniel has performed all over the United States and in Europe. Daniel’s discography includes “Birthday of the World Part I” with Leonard Nimoy narrating, “Hazzonos” with Frank London, hailed as “… jazz album of the year” by Wired Magazine, “Further Definitions of the Days of Awe” with The Afro-Semitic Experience and “Yontef! A Celebration of the Yamim Noraim, The High Holidays”.

Since 2011, Daniel has been a song parody and voice over contributor to The Howard Stern Show on SiriusXM. Howard has hailed Daniel as “a true operatic genius!” Since 2018, Daniel has become a regularly featured national anthem performer at Citi Field for the New York Mets, as well as an anthem performer for Madison Square Garden.

Over the last few years, Daniel has been exploring and composing Jewish liturgical music. His own musical setting was selected in a nationwide contest to compose a melody for the first official Jewish prayer for the United States Armed Forces. This Song of Service has been offered at congregations around the country. In February of 2022, the United Nations invited Daniel to offer the memorial prayer for International Holocaust Remembrance Day. In January of 2023, Daniel made his Carnegie Hall solo debut as part of a program entitled We Are Here: Songs of the Holocaust. Daniel was honored to share the stage with Harvey Fierstein, Chita Rivera, Shoshanah Bean and other Broadway/ Pop/ Cantorial performers as well as religious dignitaries.

Daniel is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York, where he received a BFA in Film/Video Directing. Even as a filmmaker, the vocal arts haven’t escaped his work. In his short film, “Rehearsing,” Daniel starred as a neurotic opera singer trying to make his way. “Rehearsing” was nominated for Best Film and Best Director at the annual Dusty Awards. Daniel’s feature-length documentary, “Voice Teacher,” about eccentric voice coach, Donald Neil Roberts z”l, premiered at the Syracuse International Film Festival and has since screened at the Louisville Film Festival and the “World Eye” Jewish Film Festival in Ashkelon, Israel. 

Daniel lives in Westchester with his wife, Cantor Amanda Kleinman and their three children.