Israel Alter was born in Lvov – known then as Lemberg, a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (now in the Ukraine). Alter moved to Vienna where he was able to dedicate himself to his studies in music with emphasis on cantorial liturgy. While still in his early twenties, he was offered a position of cantor at the Brigittenauer Tempel-Verein, Vienna. He moved to Hanover, Germany, in 1925 and remained there until 1935. With the rise of the Nazism
Alter emigrated to South Africa, where he became head cantor at the United Hebrew Congregation of Johannesburg. In 1961 he moved to the United States. There he became a member of faculty at the School of Sacred Music, at the H.U.C.-J.I.R. (Hebrew Union College –Jewish Institute of Religion) in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1961, he moved to New York where he continued teaching and in a cantorial capacity in the Reform Movement. He died in New York in 1979.
Israel Alter is recognized for his contribution to modern cantorial liturgy. He made many recordings and his compositions are considered an important element in modern cantorial liturgy. Alter was also editor of liturgical works of David Eisenstadt, including ‘le’David Mizmor’ (“A song of David”).