Ari Goldwag

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Rabbi

Ari Goldwag
Born1979 (age 39–40)
West Hempstead, New York
GenresContemporary Jewish religious music
Years active1988–present
Websitearigoldwag.com

Ari Goldwag (born 1979)[1] is an American-born Orthodox Jewish singer, songwriter, composer, and producer of contemporary Jewish religious music, as well as a rabbi living in Ramat Beit Shemesh, Israel. He was a soloist for the Miami Boys Choir at age 10 and starred on five albums and three videos before his voice changed at age 14. He launched a music career after his marriage and move to Israel. He has released five solo albums, and composes songs and produces albums for other artists.

Early life, education, and family[edit]

Goldwag was born and raised in West Hempstead, New York.[1] His father, Murray Goldwag, is a retired math teacher and owner of Murray's Kosher Socks in South Fallsburg.[2][3]

Goldwag attended the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County for elementary school and the Yeshiva of Far Rockaway for high school.[1] He later studied at Mercaz Hatorah and the Mir yeshiva in Jerusalem.[4] He met and married Talia, a native of Seattle, Washington, in 2001.[4] The couple settled first in Jerusalem and later in Ramat Beit Shemesh.[4] They have six children.[5]

Music career[edit]

Child singer[edit]

Goldwag enjoyed singing during his childhood and was a member of Seymour Silbermintz's choir in his elementary school years.[6] On his ninth birthday, his mother took him to audition for the Miami Boys Choir; she had to convince him to go up on stage when he panicked at the sight of 200 other boys at the tryout.[1] He passed the audition and became a member of the choir from 1988 to 1994.[1] At age 10 he became a soloist,[1] appearing as a lead vocalist on five Miami albums[7] and three music videos.[6] His soloist career ended at age 14 when his voice changed.[1]

Singer, songwriter, composer, producer[edit]

Goldwag took voice lessons for five years with Cantor Hersh Einhorn, who also coached Avraham Fried.[1] He produced his first solo album, Lishuascha Kivinu (For Your Salvation We Do Long) in 2003.[5] In addition to composing 10 of the 11 tracks on the album, he mixed, engineered and produced the album himself.[8] As of 2015, he has released five solo albums. His son, Moshe Dov Goldwag, also performs on his albums[9][10] and videos.[11]

Goldwag appears in music videos to promote his singles, including "Hashem Loves You" and "Am Echad" (One Nation).[5] For the latter video, he played five different denominations of Jews in Israel – Haredi, Hasidic, Breslov, Religious Zionist, and secular.[11] He performed the song "Am Echad" at HASC 27 in 2014.[12][13]

Goldwag has made guest appearances on albums by Mendy Wald and Shloime Dachs,[14] Shalsheles,[15] David Lowy,[16] and Moshe David Weissman,[17] and performed on the compilation albums A Capella Treasury: Yom Tov,[18] Sameach at the Wheel,[19] and A Kumsitz in the Rain.[20] He also writes songs for other artists, including the hit single "Yesh Tikvah" (There Is Hope) (2012), co-written with Miriam Israeli for singer Benny Friedman.[5] Additionally, he produces albums for other artists, including Sheves Achim 1 & 2, and Sheves Chaverim 1 & 2, which feature child vocalists performing Goldwag's compositions and musical arrangements.[21]

In 2007 he founded the Ari Goldwag Orchestra, which performs at weddings, bar mitzvahs, organizational fundraisers, and concerts.[7]

Musical style[edit]

Goldwag composes songs in both English and Hebrew.[5] While his Hebrew-language melodies are based on Jewish prayers and psalms, his English-language compositions are original.[6] On his fifth solo album, The English Album, all the tracks are in English.[9]

Other activities[edit]

Goldwag is a prolific writer and lecturer on Torah topics.[22] He has recorded hundreds of talks on the weekly Torah portion.[23] He is also the author of a book on personal growth, titled Perfectly Imperfect.[24]

Discography[edit]

Solo albums[edit]

  • Lishuascha Kivinu (For Your Salvation We Do Long) (2003)
  • Simcha B'libi (The Joy in My Heart) (2004)
  • Pure Soul: Flippin' In (2006)
  • Am Echad (One Nation) (2013)
  • The English Album (2014)
  • Lo Nafsik Lirkod - Never Stop Dancing (2018)

Compilation albums[edit]

  • A Cappella Soul (2012)[25]
  • A Cappella Soul 2 (2014)[26]
  • A Cappella Soul 3 (2016)
  • A Cappella Soul 4 (2017)
  • A Cappella Soul 5 (2018)
  • A Cappella Soul 6 (2019)

Productions[edit]

  • Shabbos: Get Ready (2007) (with Avi Newmark)[5]
  • Sheves Achim (2008)[5]
  • Sheves Achim 2 (2011)[5]
  • Sheves Chaverim (2009)[5][21]
  • Sheves Chaverim 2 (2015)[5]
  • Ki Taavot Bamayim (2015) with Moshe Dov Goldwag and Yosef Karduner

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Ginsberg, Rachel. "Catch a Falling Star: How do former child stars navigate life after the glitz and glitter is gone?" Mishpacha, April 9, 2014, pp. 156-160.
  2. ^ Jacobs, Andrew (19 August 2005). "We All Scream for Kosher Socks?; At Catskill Colonies, the Buzz Begins When the Peddler's Truck Pulls In". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  3. ^ Whitman, Victor (8 July 2008). "Kosher Sox Open for Season". Times Herald-Record. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  4. ^ a b c Meet the Members (PDF), Ahavas Shalom Bulletin, Spring 2011, p. 4, archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015, retrieved 22 March 2015
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hirsch, Ari (26 November 2013). "Ari Goldwag's "Am Echad" is Lighting Up the Charts". The Vues Online. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  6. ^ a b c "Ari Goldwag's Biography". arigoldwag.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Annual Melaveh Malka" (PDF). Ahavas Shalom. 14 February 2015. p. 19. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  8. ^ "Lishuascha Kivinu (Ari Goldwag)". Jewish Music Reviews. 24 August 2004. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  9. ^ a b "Review: Ari Goldwag – The English Album". Jewish Music Report. 11 December 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  10. ^ "A Cappela Album Feat. Sheves Achim, Chaveirim, Ari and Moshe Dov Goldwag Coming Soon". Jewish Music Report. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  11. ^ a b Bresky, Ben (11 March 2014). "Beit Shemesh Singer Ari Goldwag Calls for Unity in New Video". Israel National News. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  12. ^ "HASC – 27 CD". Mostly Music. 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  13. ^ "HASC 27: 40 Pictures by Stan Weiss to Celebrate 40 Years of Camp HASC". Jewish Insights. January 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  14. ^ "Vezocher CD With Shloime Dachs, Mendy Wald & Ari Goldwag". Eichler’s. 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  15. ^ "Shalsheles Releases New Album". thecooljew.com. 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  16. ^ "Dovid Lowy CD Ata Imadi". Eichlers. 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  17. ^ "Avodas Shebalev 2 CD". Eichler's. 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  18. ^ "A Capella Treasury: Yom Tov". Eichler's. 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  19. ^ "Sameach at the Wheel – Vol 1 CD". Eichler's. 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  20. ^ "A Kumsitz in the Rain CD". Eichler's. 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  21. ^ a b "Ari Goldwag Sheves Chaverim". Jewish Music Review. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  22. ^ "Rabbi Ari Goldwag". Aish.com. 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  23. ^ "Rabbi Ari Goldwag". Torah Anytime. 2014. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  24. ^ "Rabbi Ari Goldwag". Feldheim. 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  25. ^ "Having a Tough Day?". collive.com. 26 April 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  26. ^ "Ari Goldwag – A Capella Soul 2". Mostly Music. 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ari_Goldwag&oldid=907181494"