Sometimes it’s the unsung uncelebrated deeds that boost a singer into the limelight. Who helped these popular entertainers find their way?

Singer/composer BARUCH LEVINE

“When I was ten years old I spent my first summer away at Camp Agudah in Toronto. The weeks went by and it was time to prepare the annual cantata. Everyone was getting excited — but I was too shy to try out for choir. Fortunately I had my good friend Hillel with me in camp who went to the choir heads to tell them that I was new in camp and shy but I sang well. They came over and offered me a private tryout since I was too embarrassed to sing in public. After that summer Camp Agudah — and especially color war — were my main musical opportunities for the next ten years. My friend Hillel had opened the door for me selflessly as he had been the Camp Agudah soloist the year before.”

Singer ISAAC HONIG

“Although my grandfather was a baal tefillah back in Europe my father himself didn’t sing. He worked hard for a living and whenever he had a few extra minutes he opened a Mishnayos or a Gemara and sat down to learn. An old-time Munkacser chassid Tatte survived the war and then immigrated to the US arriving first in Chicago then moving to Williamsburg where I grew up. When I was a little boy my father used to call home from work and if I was at home he asked me to sing to him. Whenever I sang he showed his appreciation and delight.”

Musician composer singer and conductor YONATAN RAZEL

“I owe a debt of gratitude to Yuval Stupel the famed musical director of many sold-out Jewish concerts. In May 2005 I was newly married and living in Israel when I got a phone call from Stupel inviting me to conduct a concert in Avery Fisher Hall in New York. I was relatively unknown yet for some reason he believed in me enough to offer this major opportunity. Avraham Fried Dudu Fisher and Eli Kranzler performed that night and I conducted. It was my first meeting with Fried and many good things came out of that night — including ‘Vehi She’amdah ’ which although released several years later I started composing when I returned home from the concert.”

(Originally featured in Mishpacha Issue 681)