26 | NOVEMBER 17 • 2022 

J

enna Pearsall’s installation as cantor 
at New York’s prestigious Central 
Synagogue on Nov. 18 will mark the 
ending of her journey to the cantorate and 
the beginning of a new career.
Pearsall, 27, grew up in Wixom. Her 
mother, Leah McMillan, says she was 
musical even as a baby, humming and 
dancing along when she’
d hear a tune. But 
Pearsall says her real interest in musical 
performance began when she was in fourth 
grade at Loon Lake Elementary School. She 
performed “Tomorrow” from Annie at the 
school talent show to a standing ovation. 
“That’s when it kind of clicked for me,
” she 
said.
Soon after, Cantor Neil 
Michaels at Temple Israel, 
where her family have been 
longtime members, cast her in 
a musical where she did a solo, 
and she’s never looked back.
She learned to read music 

and sight-sing over three summers of choir 
at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in western 
Michigan, a musical theater camp at the 
Jewish Community Center and a musical 
theater program at Interlochen Arts Camp 
in northern Michigan. She honed her 
skills through lessons with Michaels’ wife, 
Stephanie, choir and musical theater pro-
ductions at Walled Lake Central High, and 
state solo and ensemble fests.
The cantors at Temple Israel were quick 
to take advantage of her talents. Cantor 
Michael Smolash invited her 
to join a teen tefilah (prayer) 
team when she was 13, and she 
stayed with it till she went to 
college. The teens led services 
three or four times a year.
Despite the many accolades 
she received for her singing, 
Pearsall didn’t see music as 
a career. She was determined to go to the 
University of Michigan but never consid-

ered its music school. Her father, Robert 
McMillan, is a computer scientist who 
touted the benefits of a career in the field. 
Pearsall started as a computer science major 
but felt frustrated when she didn’t enjoy her 
studies.

HER ‘AHA’ MOMENT
After her freshman year at Michigan, she 
went to Israel on a Birthright trip and “it 
made a lightbulb go off,
” she said. “I saw the 
cantorate as a way to bridge my two pas-
sions, music and Jewish identity.
”
Back in Ann Arbor, she switched to a 
joint major in Jewish studies and anthro-
pology and started planning to apply to 
cantorial school. 
On the weekends, she would return to 
Temple Israel, where the cantors taught her 
how to lead various services. For two years, 
she led High Holiday services for a congre-
gation in Flint.
Her parents were pleasantly surprised by 
her decision, she said, adding, “My broth-
er, Scott, just graduated from Michigan in 
computer science, so my dad has his com-
puter person.
” 
Those who knew Pearsall at Temple Israel 
were not surprised at her change of direc-
tion.
“Jenna always represented the very best 
aspects of our community,
” Smolash said. 
“Congregants were always moved by her 
gorgeous voice, her inspiring leadership and 
her tremendous heart. It is such a pleasure 
to see her step up to a pulpit like Central 
Synagogue, where her talents will have a 
wide and creative impact on American 
Jewish worship music.
”
He said it was an extra pleasure to see 
her sharing Temple Israel melodies with her 
new congregation. 
Steve Weiss of West Bloomfield, a regular 
at Temple Israel services, has been Pearsall’s 
fan for many years. Whenever the teen 
group participated in services, she really 
stood out, he said.
After the deaths of his mother and 
brother, Weiss started a shivah minyan and 
invited Jenna to be one of its leaders. “One 
woman heard her and said, ‘Oh, my God, 
she’s better than Barbra Streisand,
’” Weiss 
recalled. “When she chants, her neshamah
[soul] is for everyone to see. She is a gift to 
the Jewish people.
”
Pearsall spent five years in cantorial train-

OUR COMMUNITY

Jenna Pearsall

Temple Israel alum will be installed as cantor 
at New York’s Central Synagogue.
Call her Cantor

BARBARA LEWIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Cantor 
Michael 
Smolash

Cantor Neil 
Michaels

