Position: Cantor
Cantor Elisa Waltzman is a member of the American Conference of Cantors. She was ordained by the Academy for Jewish Religion in 2009, after earning both her Master of Music and Bachelor of Music Degrees in Vocal Arts from the University of Southern California.
She also studied at the Manhattan School of Music in New York, and has performed at various internationally recognized Music Festivals including three years at the Music Academy of the West, where she studied with acclaimed mezzo-soprano, Marilyn Horne. Additionally, Cantor Waltzman is a graduate of the Orange County School of the Arts Musical Theater Conservatory.
Cantor Waltzman’s childhood was filled with Jewish music sung by her late grandfather, Rabbi Cantor David J. Kane- a Holocaust survivor whose vocal talent as a child secured him a space in a concentration camp children’s choir, ultimately saving him from the gas chambers.
Inspired by her grandfather’s immense passion and deep joy of singing, Cantor Waltzman began her formal vocal training at the age of eleven, and regularly sang cantorial music and liturgy with her grandfather at Temple.
Blending her background, love of various musical styles, knowledge of Hebrew song repertoire, and the musical sounds and styles most enjoyed by her own young children, she released her first studio album Reinvented-Hebrew Songs for Families in 2015.
Cantor Elisa Waltzman is honored to be the Associate Cantor at Temple Bat Yahm in Newport Beach, California.
Specializations
- Bar/Bat Mitzvah Tutoring
- Teaching/Education
- Vocal/Instrumental Performance
- Weddings
Email: elisa.waltzman@gmail.com
Thesis Title:
IS MY CANTOR A DIVA? CONNECTIONS BETWEEN CANTORIAL MUSIC AND OPERA (2009)