cantor rachel goldman
B I O G R A P H Y
CANTOR RACHEL GOLDMAN, a native of Los Angeles, began her vocal training as a coloratura soprano at a young age, spending a majority of her childhood in the highly-acclaimed Los Angeles Children's Chorus. Before reaching college, she had received opportunities to sing on some of the largest stages in her home city, such as the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in with the Los Angeles Master Chorale and in multiple operas with the Los Angeles Opera. After spending several years at University of California Santa Barbara studying both Vocal Performance and Italian Studies (and being selected for a prestigious summer residency in the Loire Valley, France), Cantor Goldman shifted her academic direction to Judaism and graduated Summa Cum Laude from the American Jewish University with a BA in Judaic Studies in 2010.
Ordained as a Cantor from the Academy for Jewish Religion, California in May of 2014, she holds a Masters of Jewish Sacred Music from the same institution. She is also set to receive a second
ordination as Rabbi and a Masters of Rabbinic Studies upon the completion of her coursework and thesis.Cantor Goldman maintains good standing in both the Cantors Assembly and the American Conference of Cantors.
Cantor Goldman currently proudly serves as Cantor at Congretion Ner Tamid of South Bay in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. Before which, she served as both Cantor and Student Cantor for over seven years at Congregation Beit T’Shuvah, a synagogue and full inpatient addiction rehabilitation center that incorporates Jewish teachings along with 12-step modules and clinical psychotherapy. There, she had the opportunity to orchestrate servicesranging from classical to high-spirited rock and jazz with full band, as well as working with recovering alcoholics, addicts, and ex-convicts as a spiritual counselor and even preparing some for adult B’nai Mitzvah.
As a sought-after Cantorial officiant, concert soloist, and recording collaborator alike, Cantor Goldman has been honored to sing alongside renowned Cantorial masters such as Cantors Meir Finkelstein, Jack Mendelson, and Azi Schwartz, artists such as Craig Taubman, and composers such as Michael Skloff (of the Friends’ theme song, “I’ll Be There For You”). She has also been featured as a Cantor with ensembles such as the Houston Symphony, the Houston Opera Chorus, the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony; and her voice has been heard in venues such as the Hollywood Ford Theater and in synagogues throughout the country. Cantor Goldman enthusiastically continues her involvement with the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus not only as an alumna, but via collaboration on multiple projects as a coach, soloist, and repertoire consultant.
A sincere lover of harmony, Cantor Goldman is also part of two ongoing collaborative concert projects: Shul Sisters, a cross-country female-driven Cantor trio, and Guys and Meidels, a Los-Angeles-based quartet (with Cantors Marcus Feldman of Sinai Temple, Samuel Cohen of Kehillat Ma'arav, and Shira Fox of Open Temple) which infuses classical Jewish and Cantorial music with millennial energy. Shul Sisters debuts with co-collaborators Laurie Akers and Cantor Rachel Brook at Park Avenue Synagogue along in New York on April 2, 2020. Cantor Goldman also continues to be active with the Los Angeles Children's Chorus--not only as an enthusiastic alumna, but as a soloist, repertoire consultant, and language coach.
In addition to her musical and synagogue endeavors, Cantor Goldman proudly strives to help end stigmatization of mental illness, especially within the Jewish community. She strives to promote openness by teaching that shame and the words "I am not enough" are the modern-day spiritual version of slavery in Egypt.