About
Emily Lezin is a final year cantorial student at the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music at Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute for Religion. She holds a Masters in Music from Mannes College The New School for Music and and Bachelor in Music from University of California Los Angeles. She is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society.
Ms. Lezin has performed on operatic and theatrical stages all over the world. Known for her expressive voice and commanding stage presence, some of Ms. Lezin’s stage credits include: Amalia Balash in She Loves Me, Mařenka in The Bartered Bride, and the title role in Bizet's Carmen. Her concert work includes Beethoven's 9th Symphony and Pergolesi's Stabat Mater.
Emily was a vocal fellow and recipient of the Marcia and Jamie Constance Full Scholarship in Voice at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California under the direction of the legendary mezzo-soprano, Marilyn Horne.
Emily is a Star Cantorial Fellow in the Tisch/Star Initiative for Synagogue Excellence and a JDC Weitzman Fellow in Global Judaism. Emily served as the Cantorial Intern at Temple Shaaray Tefila on the Upper East Side of New York City for the past three years, and is currently serving Temple Beth Israel in Illinois as their student cantor.
She is very happy to be using her voice for community, prayer, and healing.
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Experience
Temple Beth Israel — Student Cantor
Skokie, IL | August 2026 - Present
Temple Shaaray Tefila — Cantorial Intern
New York, NY | August 2023 – June 2026
Temple Isaiah — Star Fellowship Cantorial Intern
Lafayette, CA | June – July 2026
NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital — ACPE Chaplain Intern
New York, NY | Summer 2025
UpStart Bay Area — Program Experience Coordinator
Remote | December 2019 – May 2022
Education
Master of Sacred Music
Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music
Master of Music
Mannes College of Music
BM Voice
University of California, Los Angeles
Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa
Awards and Fellowships
Star/Tisch Fellowship, Initiative for Synagogue Excellence
Atara Merit Scholarship
Weitzman–JDC Fellowship for Global Jewish Leaders
N. Belink Prize for Excellence in Reform Workshops and Repertories
Temple Beth Elohim DFSSM Prize, in honor of Cantor Jodi Sufrin
S. Messinger Prize
Cantor Debra Stein Award for Traditional Hazzanut
Cleveland Cantors Prize
