Goldstone, Salo H.

Salo Harry Goldstone was born in Tschernovits, Bukovina, ca. 1883. His father was a rabbi. At six years of age Goldstone began singing in cantor's choirs. He continued singing for the next few years as an alto soloist. All of Goldstone's dates are approximate because his 1937 biography (published in the Jewish Ministers Cantors' Association Journal "Chazanuth") contains no dates. His father died when he was thirteen and his grandfather, who lived in Galicia, sent Goldstone to Vienna to pursue general studies. Goldstone eventually attended the Konservatorium there and began his first cantorial appointment in Jassy, Romania, ca. 1900. He was recommended for this job by Viennese Obercantor Joseph Goldstein. Goldstone married around this time. He had a large choir in Jassy and held classical music concerts, but left after the outbreak of a pogrom, ca. 1904. He went to Vienna and officiated at the "grosse Musik Saal" with cantors Kulka, Tiger and Kenig. Goldstone emigrated to the U.S,. ca. 1906, with what he thought was a job offer from Congregation Ohav Zedek in New York City. Instead he settled with relatives and officiated in St. Paul, Minnesota. From ca. 1907-1916 he was cantor at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Winnipeg, Canada. Here he organized many musical institutions and composed "Shirei Beit Shlomo," cantorial music in four volumes for the entire year. Goldstone was cantor at Congregation Ahavath Achim in Atlanta, Georgia from ca. 1916-1919. He appears to have come to live and work in New York's Harlem Jewish community , ca. 1922-1926. In 1923 Goldstone sang as an operatic tenor with piano and violin accompaniment at Carnegie Hall. Goldstone went on a 200-concert tour of the U.S., ca. 1927, and was featured on the radio in Los Angeles. He assumed the cantorial position at Temple Gates of Prayer, Flushing, N.Y., ca. 1928. It is unknown how long he remained at this position. In 1937 he was Financial Secretary of the Jewish Ministers Cantors' Association. Goldstone separately published some of his prayer settings as sheet music in 1948. The final item in his collection is a notebook with the names and addresses of his students as well as cantors to whom he sold or loaned sets of music, October-November 1950. His address at the time was: 1005 Jerome Ave. Apt. B 51, Bronx, N.Y.