Micah Hendler

Micah Hendler, the founder and director of the YMCA Jerusalem Youth Chorus, is a graduate of Yale University with degrees in music and international studies. A singer with the Whiffenpoofs and Duke’s Men during his time at Yale, he has studied community song leading with Ysaye Barnwell of Sweet Honey in the Rock and has founded, directed, sung, and played with dozens of musical ensembles of varying styles. In addition, he has spent years exploring the intersection between music and conflict transformation, a journey that started at Seeds of Peace International Camp for Coexistence in Maine. Specifically, he has focused on how collective music-making can create community and foster shared identity, even across boundaries of conflict. His paper on the subject, “I am a Seed of Peace: Music and Israeli-Arab Peacemaking,” has been presented at several conferences and has been published. He has never been more in love with any ensemble than he is with the YMCA Jerusalem Youth Chorus and is grateful to them for their dedication to the chorus and for their love of one another.