Finding A Cantor Online

From YnetNews:

Every year before the High Holidays, synagogues all over the world search for cantors who will stand up in front of the congregation and amaze the audience with stirring renditions of renowned prayers. Until now, leaders of the different communities would have to go over candidates with a fine tooth comb, in order to find the cantor who was "just right." But now, with the help of the internet, the search has become easier and more convenient.

The International Jewish Connections organization has set up a special website, which features cantors singing their own special melodies, and is aimed at helping congregations find the right cantor for them.

The cantors themselves are carefully selected by the site’s managers, and are then recorded and posted on the world’s biggest website for religion and cantors at www.ijcconnections.com. With its help, all community leaders have to do is simply click, listen and choose.

"Until now, if a congregation was looking for a cantor they would have to carry extensive searches. Today it’s much simpler," says Meir Pinchas, one of the creators of the website. "You just go into a giant database which contains cantors from all over the world. A congregation would just enter the site, and pick one that they liked based on voice, pitch and style. They can even choose the volume of the cantor, depending on the size of the synagogue in question."