Alex Klein

Alex Klein – biography

Alex Klein has been passionate about Jewish music, especially chazzanut all his life. He was born and brought up in London in a musical family. Top singers and chazzanim would come round to his house and jam with his father. As a boy he saw his first superstar chazan, Moshe Oysher, in the East End of London, and was hooked. His first teacher was rabbi/chazan Avraham Rosenfeld who taught him nusach and lehening well before his bar mitzvah. As a youth he took services in Finchley Synagogue. He studied at Jews College to become a teacher, where he also attended Reverend Bryll’s chazzanut class.

Alex settled in Manchester where he brought significant Jewish artists and cantors to perform. In looking after the cantorial art and the role of the cantor, from 2003 Alex served on the executive of the Jewish Music Institute’s Synagogue Music Section and of ‘Tephilharmonic’ set up by Hirsh Cashdan and Moshe Haschel, helping to run their cantorial programmes. He set up the Julian Klein Memorial Scholarship, to send young men to train at the Tel Aviv Cantorial Institute.

Alex is also an executive member of the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester. He serves as a patient representative for Northern Care Alliance NHS Trust. He has performed professionally in Evita, Whistle Down the Wind and Witness for the Prosecution. He had his own radio programme on Sunset radio after being in a team at BBC radio Manchester.

Since 2012, Alex has been at the forefront of the European Cantors Association, arranging conventions in European and British cities with the world’s top cantorial teachers. Alex has lectured in cantorial music in the USA, Europe, Israel and the UK. He has warm friendships with many cantors and Jewish musicians around the world.

Alex is married to Yvonne. They have a married son living in Israel and a married daughter living in Greater London and grandchildren in both places.