Elizabeth Kerstein is a multifaceted musician and Jewish spiritual leader. Throughout her career, she has sought to make high quality music as a means to genuine connection and communication.
Elizabeth joined Temple Ahavat Shalom (Northridge) as the cantorial soloist in Summer 2021. As the musical clergy member, she leads all the music for Shabbat services and High Holidays, helps to create the spiritual tone of the TAS community, works with the b’nei mitzvah students, and serves as music director for the choir and instrumentalists. Though classically trained, Elizabeth incorporates many styles of music into the services she leads. She is overjoyed that her vocation combines everything she loves: music, community, spirituality, teaching, and Judaism. Before joining TAS, she was the alto soloist at Sinai Temple (2018-20), Temple Judea (2015-17), and Chizuk Amuno in Baltimore (2012-15). She is currently a cantorial student at AJRCA.
Prior to beginning her cantorial career, Elizabeth maintained an active career as a classical singer all over Southern California. Called a “dynamic performer” by the Baltimore Sun, she has sung with both the San Diego Opera Chorus (Turandot) and the Opera Santa Barbara Chorus (La Boheme). Highlights of her opera career include Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia) with Pacific Opera Project, as well as Hedwige (Guillaume Tell) at the Southern Illinois Music Festival, only the fourth full presentation of the opera in the US in the past century. She was a 2017 Finalist in the Burbank Philharmonic competition and a 2015 winner of the Young Musicians Foundation Los Angeles competition.
From 2018-21, Elizabeth was on the voice faculty at California School for the Arts - San Gabriel Valley, where she assistant directed all Vocal Arts Conservatory productions, conducted the Middle School Chorus, and taught lecture classes and vocal coaching through a partnership with Citrus College. She also ran a mentorship program on the CSArts campus, coaching high school students to teach music to local elementary schoolers.
Elizabeth is devoted to researching and performing contemporary Jewish art music; her last recital on this topic was presented by the Middlebury Language Institute School of Hebrew, and previous recitals were presented by Johns Hopkins University. She also spent two summers on scholarship at SongFest, Los Angeles’ art song festival.
Elizabeth returned to her native Los Angeles after studying voice at the Peabody Conservatory (MM) and St. Olaf College (BM Magna cum laude). She loves running, hiking, playing guitar, and sharing meals with family and friends. She is a wildly enthusiastic member of LA Bronze, Los Angeles' resident handbell choir; a devoted follower of the US Women's National Soccer team; and the proud owner of two furry cats, Taffy and Paprika.
Elizabeth joined Temple Ahavat Shalom (Northridge) as the cantorial soloist in Summer 2021. As the musical clergy member, she leads all the music for Shabbat services and High Holidays, helps to create the spiritual tone of the TAS community, works with the b’nei mitzvah students, and serves as music director for the choir and instrumentalists. Though classically trained, Elizabeth incorporates many styles of music into the services she leads. She is overjoyed that her vocation combines everything she loves: music, community, spirituality, teaching, and Judaism. Before joining TAS, she was the alto soloist at Sinai Temple (2018-20), Temple Judea (2015-17), and Chizuk Amuno in Baltimore (2012-15). She is currently a cantorial student at AJRCA.
Prior to beginning her cantorial career, Elizabeth maintained an active career as a classical singer all over Southern California. Called a “dynamic performer” by the Baltimore Sun, she has sung with both the San Diego Opera Chorus (Turandot) and the Opera Santa Barbara Chorus (La Boheme). Highlights of her opera career include Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia) with Pacific Opera Project, as well as Hedwige (Guillaume Tell) at the Southern Illinois Music Festival, only the fourth full presentation of the opera in the US in the past century. She was a 2017 Finalist in the Burbank Philharmonic competition and a 2015 winner of the Young Musicians Foundation Los Angeles competition.
From 2018-21, Elizabeth was on the voice faculty at California School for the Arts - San Gabriel Valley, where she assistant directed all Vocal Arts Conservatory productions, conducted the Middle School Chorus, and taught lecture classes and vocal coaching through a partnership with Citrus College. She also ran a mentorship program on the CSArts campus, coaching high school students to teach music to local elementary schoolers.
Elizabeth is devoted to researching and performing contemporary Jewish art music; her last recital on this topic was presented by the Middlebury Language Institute School of Hebrew, and previous recitals were presented by Johns Hopkins University. She also spent two summers on scholarship at SongFest, Los Angeles’ art song festival.
Elizabeth returned to her native Los Angeles after studying voice at the Peabody Conservatory (MM) and St. Olaf College (BM Magna cum laude). She loves running, hiking, playing guitar, and sharing meals with family and friends. She is a wildly enthusiastic member of LA Bronze, Los Angeles' resident handbell choir; a devoted follower of the US Women's National Soccer team; and the proud owner of two furry cats, Taffy and Paprika.