Senior Cantor
Cantor Shira Lissek is the Senior Cantor of Temple Israel in Charlotte, North Carolina. Previously she served as Cantor at Congregation Mount Sinai in Brooklyn Heights for seven years and then five years as the Associate Cantor at Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City. Passionate about commissioning and recording new liturgical music, Cantor Lissek has released solo albums Ani Maamin, I Believe: A Voice for Humanity and P’tach Libi, Open My Heart and recorded Bluegrass Shabbat with Matt Check. This year she looks forward to releasing L’dor Vador, the first liturgical composition commissioned for Temple Israel! As an active conductor, educator, performer, and collaborator of Jewish music, Cantor Lissek has devoted her cantorate to amplifying the richness and beauty of our sacred tradition through music and uplifting the voices of others in song and spirIt. She created teen rock band, TI Teens Rock and children’s choir, TI Kids Sing. She’s been the featured artist on prestigious stages including Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, the Philadelphia Kimmel Center, and Seattle Opera. She is a proud collaborator with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra and made her Middle C Jazz debut singing the songs of Barbara Streisand this year followed by Shira Lissek sings the Great American Song Book this fall. She has sung for national events including the FDNY Annual 9/11 Anniversary Memorials at St. Patricks Cathedral, ADL for the 25th Anniversary of the Hidden Child Foundation, and the Govenors Hannukah Celebration. She is a proud founding member of the North Carolina Jewish Clergy Association and proud to serve on the board of the Greenspon Social Action and Holocaust Education Foundation at Queens University in Charlotte. Cantor Lissek earned a Master’s in Music from the Manhattan School of Music, where she majored in Voice as a merit scholar, and holds a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University School of Music in Vocal Performance. Cantor Lissek is the proud mom of Reuben and Maayan.
