Bio

Beginnings:
Camp
Tawonga,
California

Ben Kramarz is the son of Ken and Felicia Kramarz, brother of Jake and Anna, and an heir to the cherished tradition of Jewish summer camp. As a child of a camp director, Ben’s ethical outlook, along with that of his siblings, was forged at Camp Tawonga, the utopian crucible of Northern California Jewish culture.

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Tawonga Shabbat Stroll
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A Child of the Mountains
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With the Tawonga Community

Expanding Outward: UC Berkeley Part 1

From this propitious beginning, Ben journeyed forward to the University of California, Berkeley where he studied the sacred texts of world religions alongside the writings of academic minds who sought to harmonize the diverse traditions of humanity into a universal understanding of the human condition.

Concurrent with his academic work in religious studies and anthropology, Ben began his music career as the leader, guitarist, and manager of rock band, Melting Point.

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From Camp to Campus
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Shredding!
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The Band
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Rockin' the UC Berkeley Greek Theater

Further Expansion: Jerusalem

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From Camp to Campus

After producing a thirteen song album with Melting Point, Ben’s desire to harmonize his love of music with his passion for religious inquiry led him to Jerusalem, where he spent a year learning Torah at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies.

With a head full of Torah and heart full of song, Ben returned to the Bay Area to continue his career as a professional Jewish music educator.

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From Camp to Campus
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Singing with Kids
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Solo Performance

Homecoming: Camp Research and Berkeley Part 2

Recognizing the spiritual contribution of his unique upbringing to his work as a music educator, Ben decided to revisit his camp roots, this time with a scholarly eye. Under the auspices of the UC Berkeley Folklore program, he performed ethnographic research at six Jewish summer camps in California.

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Songleaders at Camp Newman
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Leading Torah Service at Tawonga
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CITs at Camp JCA Shalom
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Tawonga Shabbat Stroll with Dad

Two years, a thousand miles, and several hundred pages of fieldnotes later, Ben published his master’s thesis, The Culture and Music of American-Jewish Summer Camp.

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The Thesis

The
Brooklyn
Years

Shortly after completing, his Master’s Degree, Ben moved to the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. Over the course of three years in the heart of Brooklyn, Ben co-founded the Brooklyn Beit Midrash, opened up his home for monthly community Shabbat lunches, and published his first book, A Guide to Songleading and Communal Singing. Most importantly, Ben met his life partner, Noa.

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With Ahrele Loschak, friend and chevruta
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Marriage and
Return to the
Bay Area: Berkeley Part 3

On September 10th, 2017 Ben and Noa got married at Eden Village Camp in Cold Spring, New York. Four days later, they moved across the country to California to start their new life together.

Ben and Noa live in central Berkeley where together, they work to build community in the Bay Area and beyond.