Judah
Cohen

Indiana University

Bio

Judah M. Cohen is the Lou and Sybil Mervis Professor of Jewish Culture and Associate Professor of Musicology at Indiana University. He has authored The Making of a Reform Jewish Cantor: Musical Authority, Cultural Investment (Indiana University Press, 2009), Sounding Jewish Tradition: The Music of Central Synagogue (New York: Central Synagogue, 2011), and Jewish Religious Music in Nineteenth Century America (Indiana University Press, 2019).  Recent publications include the “Jewish Music” article in the second edition of the Grove Dictionary of American Music, and the Music entry for Oxford Bibliographies in Jewish Studies.  He has also published extensively on Caribbean Jewish history, including his monograph Through the Sands of Time: A History of the Jewish Community of St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands (Brandeis University Press, 2004).  His current projects explore World War II era narratives in musical theater, 19th century American synagogue music, and American Jewish singer/songwriter/liturgist Debbie Friedman.