Cantor Elise Barber is very excited to be joining the Bet Am Shalom community for High Holidays. She is a cantor who focuses on the communal experience and loves the give and take of singing together. She has served as a service leader and/ or teacher at several synagogues including Temple Beth El in Springfield, MA; Congregation B’nai Jacob in Woodbridge, CT; Congregation Beth Israel in Worcester, MA; Congregation Beth Jacob in Plymouth, MA; Temple Hillel B’nai Torah in West Roxbury, MA; Temple Ner Tamid in Peabody, MA; Temple Aliyah in Needham, MA; Temple Israel in Hull, MA; Congregation Dorshei Tzedek in Newton, MA; and Temple Beth Zion in Brookline, MA. She has also performed in concerts at many of these synagogues as well as at Sinai Temple in Springfield, MA and the Jewish Fellowship of Hemlock Farms in the Poconos. Elise is a proud alumna of The Zamir Chorale of Boston where she was also a featured soloist. Cantor Elise received her cantorial ordination and M.A. in Jewish Studies from Hebrew College in Newton Centre, MA and received her B.A. in Theatre from American University in Washington, D.C. Elise also attended a summer intensive program at the Manhattan School of Music. She enjoyed a professional acting and singing career as a child and well into her twenties performing in the first national Broadway tour of the musical Titanic as well as West Side Story Suite with the New York City Ballet. Recently, she performed as Lucy Wertheimer in Frauenstimmen: Women’s Voices from Ravensbruck at the Fenway Center in Boston and also at Temple Israel in Boston. One of Elise’s favorite experiences was performing a solo concert of Jewish music in Cuenca, Spain. Elise has been a featured soloist with the Springfield Symphony in 2019, 2020, 2022, and 2023. She organized and performed in a concert celebrating the work of Stephen Sondheim at the Springfield JCC in 2022 and is currently organizing a concert focusing on the works of Rogers & Hammerstein also at the Springfield JCC where she used to serve as the Jewish Engagement and PJ Library coordinator.