26 | JUNE 2 • 2022
H
ow unlikely is it to find
three female cantors
on the bimah of the
prestigious Orthodox Hampton
Synagogue in New York?
Surprisingly, it was one of
many distinguished appearanc-
es for these three cantors — the
Shul Sisters — who are coming
to Congregation Shaarey Zedek
on Thursday, June 9, at 7 p.m.
The concert is free, but regis-
tration is required.
The Shul Sisters are three
of the leading female cantors
in the country: Cantor Laurie
Akers of Congregation Or
Shalom in Chicago, Cantor
Rachel Brook of Anshe Emet
Synagogue in Chicago and
Cantor Rachel Goldman of
Congregation Ner Tamid of
South Bay in Los Angeles.
The three cantors met
through separate shared rela-
tionships with acclaimed per-
former Neshama Carlebach.
Cantors Akers and Brook
were each invited to work
with Carlebach on one of her
albums in February 2018.
Later, when Brook was being
installed at the Park Avenue
Synagogue, Akers was com-
missioned to write a song for
the occasion, which cultivated
their relationship.
The relationship they shared
with Carlebach led them to
meet at a cantorial conven-
tion. It all came together in
February 2019, at a song-lead-
ing convention in St. Louis
called Songleader Bootcamp,
the brainchild of Jewish music
singer Rick Recht. Cantor
Rachel Goldman pulled the
other two aside to introduce
them to a beautiful song called
“Price of a Woman.” At that
moment, when they started
to sing together, they felt a
magical connection. They
realized that they had some-
thing special, and the Shul
Sisters were born.
The Shul Sisters have
been appearing together
since 2019 at venues such
as Park Avenue Synagogue
in New York City and the
International Lion of Judah
Conference, both in 2020, and
the Jewish United Fund of
Chicago Women’s Gala with
Diane von Furstenberg and
the Neranenan/Atlanta Jewish
Music Festival, both in 2021.
ACCOMPLISHED CANTORS
These three already-distin-
guished cantors have individ-
ually contributed to liturgical
music in their own rights.
Akers is a celebrated Jewish
Rock Radio artist whose
compositions have received
national acclaim. She serves as
the host of Jewish Rock Radio
Chicago Sings, a concert series
that brings together cantors
and musicians from 20-plus
congregations to create and
share new Jewish music. In
addition, she hosts the monthly
Cantors Assembly program,
Shir Chadash, and frequently
serves as a guest artist and
commissioned composer at
congregations around the
country. Her compositions can
be found in numerous Jewish
liturgical anthologies. She lives
in Chicago with her husband,
Brad, and their three sons,
Isaac, Levi and Ashton.
Brook, senior cantor of
Anshe Emet Synagogue in
Chicago, was the first female
cantor in its 150-year history.
Previously, she served as can-
tor at Park Avenue Synagogue
in New York. Her first solo
album, L
’chayim Ul’shalom:
Songs of Life and Peace, was
released in December 2020,
and she is a featured solo-
ist on several Park Avenue
Synagogue albums. Brook has
served as the conductor of
Shir Chadash: The Brooklyn
Jewish Community Chorus
and the Westchester chapter
of HaZamir: the International
Jewish High School Choir.
She has been a service leader
and educator at synagogues
throughout New York City and
at the Conservative Yeshiva in
Jerusalem, where she curat-
ed and taught the yeshivah’s
first course on building sing-
ing communities. She was
ordained at the H.L. Miller
Cantorial School of Jewish
Theological Seminary in New
York in May 2016.
Goldman currently serves
as Cantor at Congregation
Ner Tamid of South Bay in
Los Angeles. Beginning in
OUR COMMUNITY
Congregation Shaarey Zedek
welcomes the Shul Sisters on June 9.
Celebrating Female
Voices in the Cantorate
Details:
Shul Sisters at
Shaarey Zedek
On Thursday, June 9,
7 p.m. at Congregation
Shaarey Zedek, 27375
Bell Road, Southfield.
Free, but registration is
required at shaareyzedek.
org/shulsisters. Call (248)
357-5544 for information.
RUTH KREMER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
The Shul
Sisters