Matthew Lazar is the leading force of the Jewish choral movement in North America. His superior talents as a conductor and interpreter of Jewish music have elevated the standards of Jewish musical performance and educated audiences across North America. His visionary leadership led to the creation of the Zamir Choral Foundation, which continues to nurture the growth of Jewish choral singing in North America and Israel, and to the creation of the North American Jewish Choral Festival and HaZamir: The International Jewish Teen Choir. In addition to directing the Zamir Chorale, he has also created the Mantua Singers, the Selah Vocal Ensemble, and Shirah: The Community Chorus of the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades. He has inspired the creation of adult choral ensembles throughout the United States and through the Zamir Choral Foundation’s Mandell Rosen Fund for New Music, has contributed to the expansion of the choral repertoire through commissions of new music by the finest composers in North America and Israel.

Matthew Lazar’s establishment of the North American Jewish Choral Festival has provided a forum for hundreds of Jewish choral singers to come together for an annual, week-long, immersion in Jewish choral music. The Choral Festival has created a harmonious community that bridges all denominational, generational and political divides and promotes the highest standards of Jewish choral performance and education.

In 1993, Mr. Lazar turned his attention to the next generation with his creation of HaZamir: The International Jewish Teen Choir. What began in Manhattan as a single choir to provide quality choral singing opportunities for Jewish high school students has grown into an exploding international movement. The success of HaZamir has assured the continuity of Lazar’s commitment to superior Jewish choral singing and Jewish identity. That success, and the desire to ensure that young people would continue their choral experiences after high school, led to the creation of Zamir Noded, for young adult singers.

In addition to his activities in the realm of Jewish choral music, Maestro Lazar has also appeared as guest conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra, the El Paso Symphony Orchestra, the Milwaukee Chamber Symphony, the Ra’anana Symphony, and at the Ravinia Music festival. Mr. Lazar regularly appears with the great cantors of this generation, and presents programs at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and other major venues in the United States and Israel.

Mr. Lazar has served on the faculties of Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary and is a frequent lecturer and scholar-in-residence in communities and universities across the United States. He has been honored for his accomplishments by the Cantors Assembly and by Queens College of the City of New York. In addition to his albums with the Zamir Chorale, his recordings include Chants Mystique I and II with Alberto Mizrahi and Chants Mystique, Birthday of the World I and II and A Taste of Eternity I and II with the Western Wind Vocal Ensemble, and Songs for Jerusalem, featuring a special narration by Nobel Laureate, Elie Wiesel z’l, with whom Mr. Lazar performed in a special concert entitled “Memories and Melodies of My Childhood.” His current projects include celebrating the musical legacy of Elie Wiesel and the life and music of Salamone Rossi.  Most recently, he has established the first Jewish Choral Conducting Institute for the training of a new generation of conductors of Jewish and Israeli choral music.