Kol HaOlam Judges

MC Gedalia Penner

Gedalia Penner is a resident at Yeshivat Hadar's Rising Song Institute in Philadelphia, studying and applying the cultivation of grassroots activity that nurtures Jewish spiritual life and community through music. He is a ba'alneginah, experiential music educator, tefillah leader, composer, and vocalist with a degree in Vocal Music Composition from Yeshiva University. He is also a member and the musical director of Y-Studs A Cappella, a professional group with millions of views on Youtube and singing engagements across the globe.

Judge Cantor Arianne Brown

Arianne Brown is the senior Cantor of Adas Israel Congregation in Washington DC. A New Jersey native, she aspired to be a cantor since the age of eight. Arianne graduated from Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts with a Bachelor of Music Education/Voice, and from the Jewish Theological Seminary with a Master of Sacred Music and Master of Arts in Jewish Education. Arianne was a Cantor at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles for 6 years.

She was a featured performer at the Krakow Jewish Music Festival, and a faculty member of Klez Kanada. Movie credits include a role as a jazz singer in Reunited, and appearances in One Hundred Voices: A Journey Home. Arianne was featured in the Cantors Assembly’s The New Faces of the Cantorate. Ari was the author of an advice column entitled Tayere Khaznte (Dear Cantor) for the Forverts. Her trio, Ashira, released an album entitled Suddenly Spirited in 2008, featuring many original compositions. Arianne’s solo album is– Eternal Flame: A Yiddish Love Story, and on behalf of Adas Israel, she produced a children’s recording entitled Shabbat Sing!

Judge Cory Hecht

is a singer, beatboxer, teacher, and audio producer from Long Island, NY. Soon after he received his B.A. in vocal music from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, he founded Cory Hecht Music Services (www.coryhecht.com) and became the Marketing and Communications Director at KEYhillah, a Jewish a cappella nonprofit. Cory is an alumnus of Tizmoret (Kol HaOlam 2015 champion), founder of Stay Tuned at SUNY Potsdam, and currently performs internationally with multiple New York-based professional Jewish a cappella groups.

Judge Aaron R. Dunn

Aaron R. Dunn is the Vocal Music Teacher at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, MD. He teaches theatre and music, directs productions, and conducts several choirs, including the high school a cappella group Shir Madness. Prior to working at CESJDS, Aaron was Voice Faculty and Director of Opera Workshop at Lincoln University. Aaron has worked nationally and internationally as both a vocalist and stage director with such programs as Oberlin in Italy, Opera Neo, and Pittsburgh Festival Opera. Aaron holds a Bachelor’s in Music in Vocal Performance from Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music and a Master’s in Music from the University of Tennessee, where he was a member of the Knoxville Opera Studio.

Judge Cantor Asa Fradkin

Cantor Asa Fradkin joines the Judge team from Beth El in Bethesda. Raised in Baltimore, Hazzan Fradkin spent his younger years on an ashram outside of Philadelphia where he learned yoga and meditation, practices that he continues to incorporate into and blend together with traditional worship. Cantor Fradkin holds an undergraduate degree in Vocal Studies from the Indiana University School of Music. While at IU, he became actively involved in Hillel and also graduated with a Certificate in Jewish Studies. In 2007, he was ordained by the H.L. Miller Cantorial School at JTS, earning the degrees of Hazzan and Masters in Sacred Music. He also has extensive experience as a song leader and teacher.