Shloime Gertner
OriginLondon, England
GenresContemporary Jewish religious music
Occupation(s)Singer
Years active2007–present

Shloime Gertner (Hebrew: שלמה גרטנר) is a British Hasidic Jewish singer from London, England. He achieved international celebrity with his first album, Nissim (Miracles) in 2007. He often performs at Jewish weddings, and in concert and benefit performances with other top-billed Jewish singers.

Family

Gertner was born to a Hasidic Jewish family in the Hendon neighbourhood of London.[1] He is married with six children.[2] His second daughter, Malka, is developmentally disabled; Gertner dedicated the song "Kodesh" ("Holy") on his debut album to her.[2][3]

Career

Gertner often sings at Jewish weddings and is known for his "sentimental and religious wedding songs", according to The Telegraph, which says he has been called "the Hasidic Robbie Williams".[4] Gertner has appeared in concert with many popular Jewish performers, including Mordechai Ben David, Avraham Fried, Yehuda Green, Yaakov Shwekey, Baruch Levine, and Miami Boys Choir.[5] He was featured in the HASC 24 and 25 concerts,[5] was one of 30 top singers featured on the "Unity for Justice" song produced to benefit the legal defence of Sholom Rubashkin,[6] and often sings at charitable events,[7][8][9] including a 2014 appreciation breakfast at which he sang for the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.[10]

In 2007 Gertner released his first solo album, Nissim, featuring songs composed by Yossi Green, Pinky Weber, Eli Laufer, and other top Jewish composers.[11]

"The Big Event" controversy

In February 2008, a large amount of publicity was generated for a concert of 9 March at Madison Square Garden's WaMu Theater in New York City featuring Lipa Schmeltzer and Gertner, under the playbill "The Big Event". On 20 February, a full-page notice of a rabbinical ban was printed in the Hamodia newspaper. The notice stated that it was "a serious prohibition to attend or perform" at the concert which would lead to "ribaldry and lightheadedness" and added that it was "forbidden to hire these singers to sing at any party, celebration or charity event".[12][13][14] Gertner and Schmeltzer backed out of the concert within days, after 3,000 tickets had been sold.[12][15]

Shortly after the cancellation of "The Big Event", promoters began planning another concert with the scaled-down name "The Event", which went off without controversy before a sell-out crowd[16] at Madison Square Garden's WaMu Theater on 1 March 2009.[17][18] Later the same year, Aderet Records released a double CD and DVD of "The Event".[19]

Other albums

Gertner's second solo album, Say Asay, was released in 2010.[5] This was followed by two more solo albums, Vehiskin (2012) and Imagine (2013). The latter album features songs in English, Hebrew, and Yiddish.[20] In 2014 Gertner collaborated with Dudi Kalish on the album Dovid V'Shloime (Dovid and Shloime), an all-Yiddish production.[21]

Other activities

Gertner is the co-founder of Shmeichel (Yiddish for "Smile"), a "cheer-up squad" consisting of Gertner and his friends who visit and entertain sick adults and children in the London area.[2]

Albums

  • Nissim (2007)
  • Say Asay (2010)
  • Vehiskin (2012)
  • Imagine (2013)
  • Dovid V'Shloime (2014)
  • Mincha (2016)
  • Serenity (2018)
  • Yehaleli (2019)
  • Viznitz Inderhiem (2022)

Singles

  • "Yaaleh Veyovoi" (2014)

Guest appearances

  • HASC 24 – A Time for Duets (2011)
  • Kumtantz (2014)
  • HASC 25 (2012)

References

  1. ↑ "An Evening of Jewish Song" (PDF). HGSS Friends of Lvov. 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 "Nisim CD". cduniverse.com. 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  3. ↑ "Classic Review: Nissim – Shloime Gertner". Jewish Music Report. 18 January 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  4. ↑ Brown, Mick (25 February 2011). "Inside the private world of London's ultra-Orthodox Jews". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 17 October 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 "Artist Bios: Shloime Gertner". Jewish Music Report. 9 April 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  6. ↑ "Video: Rubashkin Unity Song Released". matzav.com. 7 October 2010. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  7. ↑ "News: Shloime Gertner Sings for Kisharon" (PDF). Kisharon Matters (2). Spring 2009. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  8. ↑ Rosell, Dina (2 May 2013). "Kumzits unites kehillos" (PDF). Jewish Tribune. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  9. ↑ "St. Louis Kollel presents Jewish Unity Live 2012". St. Louis Jewish Light. 30 May 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  10. ↑ "Video: London Mayor Visits Jewish Home In Stamford Hill". matzav.com. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  11. ↑ "Im Ein Ani Li". Jewish Broadcast. 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  12. 1 2 Levin, Dan (3 March 2008). "A Clash Between Popular Culture and Orthodox Piety". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  13. ↑ "Original ban notice" (in Hebrew).
  14. ↑ Resnick, Elliot (5 March 2008). "Concert Ban Sounds Sour Note For Some". The Jewish Press. Two weeks after 33 rabbis banned a concert that was to feature chassidic singers Lipa Schmeltzer and Shloime Gertner, confusion and rumor continue to percolate.
  15. ↑ "Sheya Mendlowitz & Shloime Gertner on the Nachum Segal Show". gruntig.net. 22 February 2008. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  16. ↑ Ginzberg, Binyomin (21 March 2011). "Monday Music: A Simple Jew With a Touch of Gaga". The Forward. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  17. ↑ Gersten, Lana (8 January 2009). "If at First You Don't Succeed... Hasidic Singer, Subject of Rabbinic Ban, Tries Again". The Forward. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  18. ↑ Aron, Suri (4 March 2009). "Lipa Schmeltzer's Big Event a Big Success". The Jewish Press. Archived from the original on 8 January 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2014. He was of course referring to the Lipa concert that was banned by certain gedolim. This year, the event made it through, with the permission and brachos from various gedolim.
  19. ↑ Ferber, Elisha (31 July 2009). "'The Event' to be Released on CD and DVD". matzav.com. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  20. ↑ "Shloime Gertner CD Imagine". eichlers.com. 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  21. ↑ "Shloime Gertner & Dudi Kalish Release Yiddish CD". Jewish Music Report. 12 March 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
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