They were such great talents they didn't have time to do other cantorial duties. Today cantors function much more as members of the clergy, training b'nai mitzvah students, conducting funerals and performing weddings as well as other clerical duties. Not only did cantors come from theatrical or operatic backgrounds, but many mainstream Jewish composers like Kurt Weill, George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein also composed Jewish music. And so it is with David Kates, executive director of the Jewish Music Commission of Los Angeles and composer of television and movie scores. We're the antithesis of that.
People have the image of cantors being divas.
We're not the typical cantors who just show up for services. But that doesn't mean that the performance by the three divas won't be divine. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.