Yehuda Glantz

Yehuda Glantz was born in 1958 in Buenos Aires

Yehuda Glantz was born on March 19, 1958, in Buenos Aires and grew up in a secular family. He began accordion lessons at 5, and at 6 he sang in a synagogue choir and studied violin at a conservatory. He also played piano and guitar.

At 16 he performed with a youth band, and at 17 he went to Brazil, where he studied bossa nova and samba for 2 years. At 21 he visited Israel and decided to stay. He received a scholarship from the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem and studied piano and composition.

Living in Israel led him to become religiously observant, and he began combining South American rhythms with texts from Jewish sources. He plays many instruments, including the charango, accordion and pan flute. He has performed for Jewish communities in many countries.

In the early 1990s he founded the independent company Jerusalem Music Network. His albums include Pionero in 1992, Naale in 1994 and Rak Litzok El Hashem in 1996. He appeared in an episode of the TV series Friends and twice won first prize at the Klezmer Festival in Safed.

In 2008 he founded the Regalim Festival in the Nachlaot neighborhood of Jerusalem. He is a father of 10 and a grandfather of 13.