![]() When I saw her, she gave my life an injection of energy. The first time I met her it was a special Hava Nashira workshop for song leaders, chazzanim, and singers in the community. I had only heard about when I was a teenager in the and as a music specialist at summer camps in the States. So you know, I had this fire inside of me, but it was very much in a coma. But then when I finished I said to myself, “music will be a nice hobby, but not a real profession.” I did my bachelor study in political science at Hebrew University and met my husband. In the army I was a singer in the performing arts groups. I met her at the main intersection of my life as a young woman, as Bat Ella and also as a person that was looking for her identity as a Jewish Israeli person.Įver since I can remember, I was on stage. I was in the beginning of my life, I had just moved from Israel to the States with my boyfriend who has since become my husband. New York Jewish Week: Can you tell me a little bit about your relationship with Debbie Friedman?īat Ella: I met her around 30 years ago. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. The New York Jewish Week caught up with Bat Ella ahead of her concert in New York to chat about how Debbie Friedman and her music changed the singer’s life, and how she hopes to continue that legacy in Israel.īat Ella, an Israeli folk musician who has recorded five solo albums, is bringing her tribute to Debbie Friedman to Manhattan’s Park Avenue Synagogue. Cantor Azi Schwartz, who will also take part, is excited about bringing Friedman’s music to PAS, where in his 13 years he has showcased liturgical, traditional music. To mark 11 years since Friedman died, Bat Ella will return to the United States to perform her own versions of Friedman’s music at Park Avenue Synagogue on the Upper East Side, on June 14. Her goal, she said, is to bring Friedman’s inclusive, egalitarian philosophy to Israeli Judaism - a goal that Friedman shared with Bat Ella during her lifetime. In the years since Friedman’s death in 2011 at age 59, Bat Ella has translated Friedman’s songs into Hebrew, channeling her joyful and prayerful melodies and putting women at the forefront of her own songs. Noa Schwartz, and their four children in our community.Bat Ella and Friedman sang together around the United States for decades after meeting in the early 90s. Park Avenue Synagogue is honored to have Cantor Azi Schwartz, his wife Dr. Dedicated to cultivating the next generation of cantors, Azi serves on faculty of all major cantorial schools, and serves as Treasurer for the Cantors’ Assembly, the largest professional organization for cantors. He has released nine studio albums containing traditional and newly commissioned Jewish liturgical music. He played the role of the cantor in Richard Gere's movie "Norman" and performs in concerts and interfaith missions around the world.Īzi has an astounding online following. During Pope Francis’s visit to New York in October 2015, Cantor Schwartz represented the Jewish people at the multi-religious service at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. In 2018, Azi was featured in a PBS special titled “The New York Cantors,” which brought cantorial music to millions of viewers across the US and in Europe. Passionate to bring Jewish liturgy to the broader world, Azi has performed at Carnegie Hall, the United Nations, Madison Square Garden, the US Capitol Rotunda, and the Israeli Knesset. ![]() Following distinguished predecessors, including Cantor David Lefkowitz, Cantor Schwartz creates, records, and publishes new liturgical music, as well as hosts world-class guest artists for concerts and worship. Since 2009, Azi serves as cantor at Park Avenue Synagogue, the largest Conservative community in NYC and the flagship of Jewish liturgical music in North America. ![]() After graduating from the Tel Aviv Cantorial Institute and studying under the top cantors in the world, Azi continued studying music, earning a Masters in Classical Singing and Conducting from Mannes School of Music in New York. His grandfather, also a cantor, inspired Azi to pursue his passion and inclination for singing and music. His craft of Jewish liturgical music has been described as emotionally moving, spiritually uplifting, and artistically dynamic.Īzi grew up in a traditional community in Israel. ![]() Cantor Azi Schwartz is a world-renowned vocal performer and recording artist whose music reaches both Jewish and interfaith audiences internationally.
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