Bruce Braun

Ḥazzan Bruce Braun has served as Membership Chair and coordinator of the Cantorial Intern of the Cantors Assembly (CICA) program since January 2014. In addition to his duties at the Cantors Assembly, Ḥazzan Braun has been with Shaaray Torah Synagogue in Canton, Ohio for over 47 years, beginning in 1976 as the High Holiday Ba'al Shacharit, Ba'al Korei and Ba'al Toke'ah. In 1981, Ḥazzan Braun took over as the congregation's cantor, and since 2000, he has been Shaaray Torah's Spiritual Leader.

During the early 2000’s, Ḥazzan Braun was a mentor to eight rabbinic students from the Jewish Theological Seminary, each of whom spent a year at Shaaray Torah through the Legacy Heritage Rabbinic Fellow program.

Ḥazzan Braun is a graduate of The University of Akron, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting. He studied Ḥazzanut with Ḥazzanim Gabriel Berkovits (z”l), Stephen J. Stein, and Moshe Taubè (z”l), to whom he credits much of his development as a Ḥazzan. Ḥazzan Taubè was not only a teacher to Ḥazzan Braun, but also his mentor. Ḥazzan Braun became a member of the Cantors Assembly in 1985 and earned his Commission in 1989.

In 2018, the Jewish Theological Seminary presented an honorary Doctor of Music degree to Ḥazzan Braun for his years of dedicated service to Shaaray Torah, to the cantorate and to the Conservative Movement.