BTRock Productions

Sam Glaser
bio

Sam Glaser has captivated the Jewish world with his unique vision, exuberant music-making and insatiable appetite for Jewish Outreach. He has gained a devoted following of fans of all ages for his distinctive blend of Pop, Jazz and Rock coupled with timely Jewish concepts.

Hineni, Glaser's first Jewish CD, was released in 1992 to become one of the best-selling Jewish albums of the year. Songs such as "Shabbas," "Pitchu Li" and the title track have since become standards at synagogues, camps and households worldwide. He began a rigorous touring schedule throughout the US and Israel promoting the album at enthusiastically received concerts, workshops and Shabbatons. In 1994, Glaser followed up with A Day in the Life, a deeply inspired collection of songs illuminating the beauty of the daily Jewish experience. No expense was spared to bring the music to life, including the finest L.A. studio musicians, a full horn section and an accomplished string quartet. Sam's third album, the 1997 release Across The River, celebrates the course of the Jewish year with sixteen songs about the major holidays and lifecycle events. He promoted this album in the 50+ city One Hand/One Heart Unity tour across the globe in '98 and '99.

Glaser's next undertaking was a unique album/theatrical concert package entitled Kol Bamidbar/A Musical Journey Through the Five Books of Moses. Released in 1999, the studio soundtrack album features thirteen songs tracing Jewish history through the stories of the Torah. Sam sings this memorable "edu-tainment"-oriented music accompanied by his top-notch band and the newly formed Kol Bamidbar Childrens Choir culled from several renown school choirs in the L.A. area. Glaser has supplemented his concert schedule with over a dozen stops throughout the US and Canada performing this interactive musical in concert with the local afternoon and day school children. To date over twenty Kol Bamidbar events have transformed communities, some with up to 800 children participating, across all denominational lines.

The lastest from Glaser Musicworks is The Songs We Sing, a new CD with over 70 minutes of Sam and his band performing classic songs in the Jewish repertoire. The jazzy arrangements and state-of-the-art production give new life to these standards that have been enjoyed for decades.

Glaser has been composing, singing and tickling the ivories since the ripe old age of seven. He graduated the University of Colorado, Boulder with a BA in Business and Music, and supplemented his studies at Berklee College of Music in Boston and at the UCLA Film Scoring Program. He has produced eight albums of his own compositions, published four collections of lyrics and poetry, two sheet music songbooks of his Jewish music and a new SATB choral book, Kol Haneshama. In his cutting-edge recording studio, Glaser Musicworks, he scores for film, television and radio and produces albums for a wide variety of recording artists.

Glaser has emerged as one of the leaders of the Los Angeles music scene. He served as Executive Director of the Jewish Music Commission for five years, an organization that commissions and produces major Jewish works from composers across the country. He produces the annual American Jewish Song Festival, the most prestigious song writing competition of its kind. In 1995, Glaser was appointed Music Coordinator for the Department of Continuing Education at the University of Judaism where he supervised the music curriculum and directed the Cultural Arts Program.

For four years Glaser acted as Musical Director for the renown Yad b'Yad youth theater troupe and recently as Music Director for the Brandeis Collegiate Institute in Simi Valley, CA. He has also served as a cantorial soloist and is a popular teacher of a variety of classes on Jewish topics in Jewish communities nationwide. He is active in the Coalition for Advancement of Jewish Education, the Center for Jewish Culture and Creativity and has been a Jewish Big Brother for seven years. Sam lives in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood of Los Angeles with his wife Shira and children Max, Jesse and Sarah.