David Roitman was born in Dorozhinki, Russia, and was one of the leading cantors of his time. He was apprenticed with several cantors in Russia, including Zeidel Rovner. Roitman served as a cantor in St. Petersburg (1912-1917) and achieved great esteem both in the local Jewish community and across Europe. In 1923 he immigrated to the US and settled in New York, officiating as a cantor at the Sha'arey Tzedek Synagogue from 1924 until his death. As a cantor, he had a lyric tenor voice, and according to Geoffrey Shisler, had the 'facility of being able to pass from a very high falsetto into full voice with absolutely no discernable break.'[1]As a composer, Roitman composed liturgical works; some of which achieved wide popularity, such as Ashamnu Mikol 'Am.
Sources:
W. Levin, Neil. 'David Roitman.' ; 'Roitman, David.' Encyclopaedia Judaica. Eds. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik. Vol. 17. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. 370. 22 vols. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 20 Nov. 2010; Shisler, Geoffrey. 'David Roitman.'.
[1] Geoffrey Shisler, 'David Roitman.'
