Jewish A Cappella, Lost and Found

On doing A Cappella after the Pandemic

Jewish A Cappella peaked in the early 2010s. This was the era of new ensembles, the launch of national competitions and conferences, and the first viral Maccabeats music videos flooding the world through the mainstreaming of the smartphone. The a cappella genre provided the opportunity to put together fun, high-level, and pop-infused musical arrangements of Jewish and secular repertoire. The often humorous and edgy feel of the ensembles allowed for both Jewish pieties and secular impieties to be expressed in real time, letting the singers boldly claim their place across the identity-tightrope of American pop and Jewish sound.

Over the past two decades, I got to see a lot of this close up. I sang in high-school Jewish a cappella, tried to start a college group, formed a male Jewish a cappella quartet in cantorial school, worked with my synagogue’s high-school ensemble, and ended up a three-time judge at Kol HaOlam, the National Jewish A Cappella competition.

My high schoolers were fantastic, by the way. Here they are back in 2017 — I can take no credit other than as their cheerleader and occasional coach. They were student-run, just like their collegiate contemporaries.

It was around this time that I wrote Ilu Finu: A Cappella for Jewish Prayer for high school, collegiate, and professional groups to use when they traveled to synagogues. Things were moving forward — I was traveling around to conferences, seminaries, and Hillel International to spread the word that a cappella could be a vessel for spiritual growth.

And then the pandemic happened.

Like so many other artistic life-rhythms — from theaters to concert halls, music halls to minyanim, the world of embodied, in-person Jewish a cappella was heavily disrupted by the stay-indoors semesters of 2020 and early 2021. As online, asynchronous collabs and Tik-Tok duets burned through the culture, a cappella groups and institutions worked to adapt. Pre-recorded and socially-distanced Jewish a cappella wasn’t just for the pros anymore, but for everyone.

I admit that after the pandemic, I fell out of touch with trends in Jewish a cappella. Now, in 2025, I wondered — what has become of it today?

Doing some investigation over the past month, I found the world of Jewish a cappella still thriving, but definitely diminished from a decade ago. In 2019, there were thirty-eight collegiate groups, eleven high-school groups, five post-college groups, and eleven pro/semi-pro groups in North America. Six years later, the landscape is dramatically changed. Nearly all of the semi-pro groups are gone, leaving the pros that you know from touring gigs and YouTube videos. The post-collegiate groups are down to two or three. Half of the high school groups have shut down their internet presence and appear to be defunct. Among the collegiate groups — the beating heart of the Jewish a cappella movement, the numbers don’t lie either, with only twenty-four active groups by my count.

This is clearly a changed time for the genre. The potential causes are many: the pandemic, the campus climate, or some waning of interest in public Judaism. A cappella music in general is also no longer in its golden age, but has declined into a more settled, institutionalized aspect of collegiate life.

Nevertheless, I wanted to know — what is it like to do Jewish a cappella now?

I reached out to a number of groups — I should know better than to ask college students for an interview around exam time. But thankfully, two ensembles graciously got back to me.

Music Director Eiden Weinberg, director of Kaskeset (SUNY Binghamton), spoke glowingly of what the group has to offer — in-person, sincere human and musical connection grounded in Jewish music:

“Jewish a cappella at Binghamton provides a space for celebrating Jewish culture and music. It offers a supportive environment where members can feel accepted and engage with Judaism in a creative and meaningful way. Recruitment has been thriving, with many new members joining Kaskeset because they were drawn to the close-knit community we foster—this resonates with both our Jewish and non-Jewish members alike. Our repertoire has evolved to include more contemporary pop songs alongside modern Israeli and Jewish music, all while staying true to our classic pieces.

Jewish a cappella fills an important role as a fun and creative outlet within the Jewish community on campus. While our synagogues and Jewish student organizations offer vital support, a cappella provides a unique opportunity to unwind, connect with friends, and enjoy great music. Jewish a cappella will always be a welcoming home for those who connect to Judaism through song. Singing Jewish music is a soulful expression that we, in Kaskeset, feel incredibly fortunate to be part of.”

My other contact was the president of my own state’s Jewish a cappella group, the Ohio State Meshuganotes. Kalib Walsh (’26) joined the group as a freshman after growing up singing in school and synagogue choirs. Being part of the “Shugs” came to represent the culmination of all of his values and interests.

“One of my purposes on this planet is to bring people together and create positivity.”

—Kalib Walsh, Meshuganotes President

Since October 7th, Kalib observed that the group became a “safe space” for its singers, and the political environment has made their work all the more meaningful. Although pro-Hamas rallies have begun to diminish, the Shugs have nevertheless engaged police accompaniment for all of their performances to deter bad actors. They have reason to be wary — Jews have at OSU have experienced anti-Semitism at rallies, anti-Jewish vandalism, and even an assault in the High Street.

The Meshuganotes nevertheless create a warm and safe place for Jewish and secular musical expression — both for the group’s Jewish and non-Jewish members. Their repertoire is about 60% Jewish and 40% secular, with the former comprising many Meshuganotes “classics.”

Even with the disruption of the pandemic and the chilling of campuses to Jewish life after October 7th, Jewish a cappella is still warming hearts and creating close communities of Jewish music.

In fact, new groups have recently budded on embattled college campuses, including BerKalit (est. 2022) at Berklee College of Music and ApiChorus (est. 2023) at Harvard. And even as past performance competitions have waned, a new one is launching next week at the University of Maryland (It is sold out, but you can get on the waitlist or make a donation here).

So maybe the prescription for the fever of campus anti-Judaism is more Jewish a cappella — authentic, fun ensembles where singers can be unapologetically loud and unapologetically Jewish. We don’t need these groups to only be “safe spaces,” but to have the security and pride to be celebrated symbols of public Jewishness.

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To that end, here’s my call to action:

• Find your local Jewish a cappella group, and make a donation. These groups thrive on community and music, but they also love recording and touring. Both of these cost money, and groups always are working to raise. Even just a few three-to-four figure donations could totally transform what a group is able to do in a year. Back in 2019, when I was doing the workshop circuit, I advocated for Hillel International to put some serious funding into these groups to lower the barrier for them to do what they do best. But until that happens, it’s time for us to step up.

• Bring a Jewish a cappella group to your community. These travel and performance opportunities bring excitement to the group and also validate their mission as agents of Jewish music and community. And as someone who was deeply affected by Jewish a cappella coming to my childhood synagogue, I can tell you that the impact is felt by synagogue and community youth as well.

Jewish a cappella may have been disrupted, but it is still carrying our prayers for a world of public and proud Jewish sound.