Jay Rapoport
Nationally-touring music educator Jay Rapoport takes Jewish values and stories and transforms them into "Ruach Rock," a catchy piano-pounding style influenced by Ben Folds and Billy Joel. His first album of original Jewish songs, With All Your Heart, was released in November 2010, and he travels the country sharing his unique blend of instant sing-alongs and engaging musical storytelling that gets people out of their seats and rocking. Jay has performed at URJ Biennial, NewCAJE and NFTY Convention and has served on the faculty of Song Leader Boot Camp, led t'filah for ARJE gatherings, and taught at Hava Nashira. Jay honed his skills as a camp songleader, touring clubs and colleges with various bands, and incorporating original music into his roles as camp director at Temple Rodef Shalom in Falls Church, VA and youth advisor and educator at Congregation Rodeph Sholom in NYC. Jay studied piano and singing at Berklee College of Music and has a master's degree in religious education from Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City. Since 2014, he has served as Director of Lifelong Learning at Temple Sholom of Chicago. His second album of Jewish music, They Tried To Get Us, We Won, Let's Rock! was released in December 2014.