Meir Finkelstein - Move To The USA

Move To The USA

A few years later he moved to the United States to become the cantor at Beth Hillel Congregation of Wilmette, Illinois. In 1982 he was appointed cantor of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, California, a congregation he served for eighteen years.

During his tenure with Sinai Temple, Finkelstein composed more than 100 settings for the liturgy while simultaneously enjoying a successful career as a Hollywood composer/arranger. He scored numerous television shows, including episodes of Dallas and Falcon's Crest, as well as many made-for-TV movies. He collaborated with Steven Spielberg, composing music for the Visual History Foundation's award-winning documentary, "Survivors of the Holocaust".

Finkelstein's next cantorial position was at Congregation Beth Tzedec of Toronto, where he worked for three years before moving to his present home, Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield, Michigan.

Finkelstein also works as a producer and arranger, and has collaborated on many of his colleagues' albums. He was one of the "Three Cantors," along with Alberto Mizrahi and David Propis, performing in sold-out cantorial symphonic concerts in Houston, Texas in 1995 and 1996. He also lectures on the history of Jewish liturgy as a scholar-in-residence at synagogues in the United States.