Active Artists

The artists included here are those with two or more years of active involvement in ATARA as performers, educators, or administrators. We recognize the community of observant artists continues to grow, and we welcome any artist who wishes to contribute to this goal!

Bracha Adrezin – Opera Vocalist – Los Angeles - A native of Maine, Bracha has been part of the prestigious Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, trained under world renowned maestros at the Vienna State Opera, developed expertise in traditional Italian Bel Canto singing, and received advanced training in psychology and psychotherapy from the University of Vienna. She became a specialist in the music of Puccini and Verdi. As a professional opera singer in Europe, Bracha used to perform extensively as a concert soloist for grand… Read more
Annie Orenstein – Partner. Producer, Radio host, writer – Maale Adumim, Israel - Annie has been producing shows for women in the arts since 2007. She is the cofounder of Spotlight On Women and is the host of Spotlight On Women Radio which is aired weekly in Israel, featuring music by women for women as well as other women producers and professionals of different fields. Annie also writes articles featuring artists in the Jerusalem Post and the Jewish Press. Annie, originally from Brooklyn, NY, made Aliyah in 2003… Read more
Shaindel Antelis – Singer-Songwriter – NY-NJ - Shaindel Antelis has been singing ever since she learnt how to talk, and started writing her own songs at ten years old. From when she was a young girl she dreamed about releasing an album of her own. Well that day has finally come. Shaindel recorded a five song demo when she was seventeen years old, but she was still developing her own style and sound. Soon after, Shaindel went to Israel for the year… Read more
Shoshana Auerbach – Singer-Songwriter, Piano Instructor and Music Therapist – Brooklyn, NY - Shoshana Averbach, LMSW, MA, MT-BC, LCAT, released her debut CD, The Time is Coming. Her CD features original healing songs in a variety of styles, in English and Hebrew, as well as instrumental piano compositions. Her songs foster a deeper connection with the Creator and offer a spiritual perspective on life and one's experiences. For her album, Shoshana wrote all of the music and lyrics, performed on guitar, keyboard and flute, and sang. Shoshana works… Read more
Ayelet HaShachar – Women’s Band – Baltimore, MD - Featuring Lisa Aronson Friedman, Shalomis Koffler Weinreb, and Stephanie Rabinowitz, performs original Jewish music by women for women. The group is known for its soul-stirring themes, tight three-part vocal harmonies and melodic guitar and piano arrangements. The trio draws on a lifetime’s worth of experience and musical backgrounds that include classical, jazz, folk, musical theatre and Jewish music. Before becoming Torah observant, the women each developed expertise in their creative fields and now draw on… Read more
Stephanie Kurtzman Barat – Violinist – New York - Stephanie Kurtzman Barat is an active performer and teacher in the classical and Jewish music arenas. She is a graduate of Curtis Institute of Music and Carnegie Mellon University. She has soloed with many orchestras including twice with the Houston Symphony Orchestra. She has performed in such places as Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Jones Hall and Merkin Hall. She has taken part in many chamber music festivals. She also freelances and plays with many of… Read more
Leah Chwaiewsky Bassett – ATARA Founding Member; Dancer and Theater Artist, Medical Clown – Toronto, CAN - Leah (Chwaiewsky) Bassett has trained in Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Modern and Musical Theatre at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and Academy of Dance in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Leah has performed in a wide variety of productions throughout Western Canada and had the privilege of assisting in choreographing the opening and closing ceremonies of the Pan Am Games. Leah participated in the first ATARA Conference in 2007 and became an early active ATARA board member. Read more
Adena Blickstein – Dancer, Composer – Englewood, NJ - Adena C. Blickstein MD, MPH is a physician, public health professional, and proud mother of two. She is a Dancer, composer, instructor, founder and director of Professional Women's Theater (PWT) and Jewish Women's Talent Agency (JEWTA). She is passionate about advocating for the needs of women and children through education and family-friendly performance. She founded Professional Women's Theater in 2007 with the goal of producing of professional caliber content for women that raise awareness of… Read more
Shoshannah Brombacher – Visual Artist and Educator – Brooklyn, NY - Shoshannah studied studied Semitic Languages, Ancient Middle Eastern Culture and Codicology at the University of Leyden (Holland) and specialized in medieval Sephardic Hebrew poetry. Her Ph.D. thesis describes the Portuguese (Marano) Jewish Community in 17th century Amsterdam. She was involved in codicological projects with manuscripts, tombstones and books in Amsterdam, Jerusalem and Germany and lectured at the Free University of Berlin, Germany. Though she attended art classes in Leyden and at the Free Art Academy… Read more
Darcie Davida Giborah – vocalist, songwriter, music industry administrator – Modiin, Israel - Darcie (Davida Giborah) Nicole is a vocalist, songwriter, music business consultant, and publicist in the R&B/Soul idiom. Compared vocally to the likes of Chaka Khan, Teena Marie, Ann Wilson, Etta James, and Mary J. Blige, Davida Giborah is a classically trained coloratura soprano, her earliest inspiration into music comes from her mother Surah Batyah, z"l, a folk artist, and her grandfather Levi Yizchak Vladimer, z"l; a WWII-era jazz bassist who played with Tommy Dorsey and… Read more
Aliza Dubin – Singer-Songwriter, Pianist – Passaic, NJ - Aliza Dubin, is a songwriter and composer born in Johannesburg, South Africa, raised in Toronto, and currently residing in Passaic, NJ with her husband and six children. Her first album, Hey Little Girl, was released in 2000. Her style of music has been described as contemplative, meditative, moving and spiritual. She is thrilled to have recently completed her long awaited second album. She has performed throughout the States and hopes to continue to inspire women… Read more
Robin Garbose – ATARA Founding Member; Film Director – Los Angeles - Founding Member, ATARA; Film Director - Los Angeles, CA Robin Garbose began her directing career in the theater. In New York and Los Angeles, Robin directed some 35 plays at theaters including: Ensemble Studio Theater, Jewish Repertory Theater, Manhattan Punch Line, Juilliard Theater Center and the Odyssey Theatre. She has directed such noted actors as Laura Linney, Jon Tenney, Peter Riegert, Helen Slater, Ricki Lake, Jason Alexander, Judd Nelson and Bruno Kirby. Her television credits… Read more
Glaser Drive – Women’s Band – New York, NY - GLASER DRIVE is a New York based Americana / Folk / Rock band comprised of sisters Faige, Chaya, Eden & Doren Glaser. The sisters have been singing together for as long as they can remember. They compose, arrange and perform original Americana/Folk/Rock harmony-driven music, drawing from the roots of their musical heritage. San Diego, where the girls were raised, was a place where music flowed through their lives and veins like the ocean that surrounded… Read more
Elisheva Golani – Dancer and Photographer – Houston, TX - Elisheva (Raichman) Golani attended The University of Houston. She began dancing ballet at the age of six, at the JCC of Houston, TX. She continued to dance even after leaving home to attend a religious boarding school for girls in Florida. In Florida, Elisheva has danced with Ballet Elite and U4ria dance studios taking lyrical, modern, jazz and contemporary dance as well as ballet, and has started taking Bollywood dance. She has choreographed dances for… Read more
Leah Gottfried – Filmmaker, Actress – Passaic, NJ - Leah Gottfried started acting at an early age in various films, commercials and stage productions. She has appeared in Yamaha ATV and Time Warner Cable commercials, the TV show Distant Roads and the feature film Operation: Candlelight. Stage credits include Brighton Beach Memoirs (Nora), Lost in Yonkers (Gert) and The Government Inspector (Anna). At age 17, Leah explored a newfound interest of working behind the scenes and wrote and directed her first short film. Since… Read more
Elana Greenspan – Songwriter, Composer, Musician, Writer – Passaic, NJ - Independent Site CD Fully Halachic CD for Kids Single Video Reel for Clients Song Reel for Clients Book Articles http://www.aish.com/jw/s/48899637.html http://www.aish.com/jw/s/48908742.html http://www.aish.com/ci/s/48938947.html Read more
Toby Klein Greenwald – Advisory Board. Theater Director, Writer – Efrat, Israel - Toby Klein Greenwald has founded, co-founded or directed more than 12 theater companies or educational theater projects. She is the artistic director of Raise Your Spirits Theatre (www.raiseyourspirits.org), in which capacity she has co-authored (lyrics) and directed musicals on Esther, Noah, Ruth, Deborah and the daughters of Tzelofchad (sole lyricist). She directed and script-advised the show Count the Stars in Gush Etzion in 2014 and directed Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for both Raise… Read more
Amy Guterson – ATARA Contributing Board; Film writer and Director – Pittsburgh, PA - Amy (Gordon) Guterson has her BA from Stern College, Yeshiva University, where she was the school’s first theatre major. She studied acting with Uta Hagen, and Mike Nichols, and has trained intensively in improvisation with Paul Sills. Amy is a graduate of The New Actors Workshop, a graduate level program in acting. A member of Actor’s Equity, Amy performed Off- Broadway before returning to observance. Now living in Pittsburgh, PA with her husband and four… Read more
Abby Harris – JUNIOR Artist; Pianist, Vocalist, and Classical Composer – Queens, NY - Abby Harris composes original classical music on piano, and especially loves baroque music. A music conservatory professor who is mentoring her has put her on a strict "Bach Daf Yomi" schedule. She has been composing since she was eight, and she is both a classical and Jewish composer. She premiered three of her classical compositions in New York City on December 2015. She is also a student of music theory and recently, also partimenti (basso… Read more
Batya Harris – Director of The Teaneck PeniNote Choir and Passaic NaShira Choir – Passaic, NJ - Batya has over twenty years of experience in choir direction, harmony composition and guitar accompaniment. She currently heads two choirs that meet weekly and perform. The Teaneck PeniNote Choir and Passaic NaShira Choirs, Directed by Batya M. Harris are wonderfully varied groups of women in the NY metropolitan area who love to sing and make others happy through music. We learn vocal exercises, breathing techniques, beautiful harmonies and we have a blast!!! Rolling admissions -… Read more
Polina Imas – Opera vocalist – Chicago, IL - Polina Imas is the director of Kinor Center, Chicago IL. Polina began playing the violin when she was six, she studied at the Music Institute of Chicago and pursued a double major in music performance and engineering from Northwestern University, Evanston IL. She is a recipient of Winnetka Music Club Scholarship, Bel Canto Foundation, National Association of Teachers of Singing and the Society of American Musicians awards. While observing an Orff music class Polina noticed… Read more
Rachel Jakob – Singer-Songwriter – Brooklyn, NY - Rachel is a singer/songwriter from Brooklyn, NY. Working as an Acupuncturist by day, on her free time she performs and writes music. Music has always been one of her greatest passions and more recently, began performing within the women's Jewish music world, aiming to inspire women all over to get closer to Judaism and to themselves. She is currently working on putting out an album which will include her original songs "Aishes Chayil," "Believe," and… Read more
Franciska Kay – Singer-Songwriter, Podcaster – Philadelphia - Franciska Kay (Kosman) is a composer, singer, and performer. She creates her masterpieces by weaving eternal words of prayer into soulful guitar melodies. Raised in religious school and in musical academy, Kay’s compositions reflect her commitment to bridging both worlds. Franciska started playing the piano at six years old. She began composing after she mastered the guitar at the young age of twelve. While studying in high school, she toured in the US and Europe… Read more
Leslie Ginsparg Klein – Singer-Songwriter, Author and Academic – Baltimore, MD - Leslie Ginsparg Klein is the founder and director of Girls’ Night On!, an organization that promotes Jewish women in music and the arts. She was inspired to pick up the guitar after going to a women’s open mike night in Israel and started singing/songwriting a few years after that. From 9-5, Leslie serves as the academic dean of Maalot Baltimore, researches the history of Orthodox women’s education, and lectures across the country. Girls' Night On!… Read more
Lori Leifer – Singer-Songwriter – New York, NY - Lori Leifer is a devoted artist, friend, sister, database programmer and community organizer. She is a proud eynikle (direct descendent) of the great Ndvorna chasidim (of Premishlan) who were known for their chesed and skills on the fiddle. Raised on a farm in upstate, NY, she is only now studying Yiddish intensively and hopes to be fluent one day. Lori has a small business using Jewish folk music to entertain elderly Jews at assisted living… Read more
Esther Leah Marchette – ATARA Co-Director; Singer-Songwriter – Boston, MA - Esther Leah (Aviva) Marchette is a singer, songwriter and former cantor (before becoming a baalat teshuva in her early 20’s) with a B.A. in Songwriting from Berklee College of Music in Boston, and plays piano, guitar and percussion. Professionally, she has been working in the software industry for 20 years as a manager and technical program manager. She has led many large complex cross-functional programs, coordinated development and releases of new software products and IT… Read more
Laura Melnicoff – Cellist – Crown Heights, NY - A native New Yorker, Laura has been playing cello since the age of 6. Currently in her senior year of undergraduate study at the Mannes College of Music, Laura started keeping Shabbos in her freshman year of college. While continuing to perform at classical music venues such as Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall, the Merkin Concert Hall, and Alice Tully Hall, as well music festivals in the U.S., Europe, and Israel, Laura has also been… Read more
Miriam Leah Gamliel, EdD – ATARA Founder/Director, Performer – Montreal - Miriam Leah (Droz) Gamliel is a thought leader with a doctorate in Educational Innovation residing in Montreal, Canada. In her early career, she studied musical theatre and performed principal roles before adopting religious observance. Once observant, she became a producer and arts administrator, instrumental in the formation and management of ATARA. Outside of ATARA, she has directed a feature film, participated in arts-based fellowships, and can be seen as a principal performer in shows by… Read more
Rivka Nahari – Partner. Pianist, harpist, opera soprano – Brooklyn, NY - Rivka Nahari has had many years of training and performing experience in both music and dance. She began her ballet training at the age of 3 and studied in the pre-professional program at the Academy of Nevada Dance Theater where she continued until her graduation from high school at age 17. While at the Academy, she performed yearly in the "Nutracker" ballet and "Cinderella" with the Nevada Dance Theater professional company and danced in numerous… Read more
Michelle Penn – Dancer – Silver Spring, MD - Michelle Penn started dancing at 3 years old. At 14, she joined the Fort Lauderdale Children's Ballet Theater, under the direction of Angela Mauti. There, I was privileged to dance soloist and principal roles, including the Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty and the evil stepsisters in Cinderella. She attended Northwestern University in Evanston, IL as a Psychology and Dance Major, where she began exploring modern and contemporary styles, and had many opportunities to perform as… Read more
Yocheved Polonsky – ATARA Founding Member; Dancer – Cleveland, OH - Yocheved Polonsky is a dancer, dance educator, and founder of the Creative Learning Institute of Dance in Cleveland, OH, a Judaic dance and movement arts studio to provide a holistic Jewish environment for the study of dance. Yocheved studied classical ballet, modern dance, jazz, at the Cleveland Institute of Dance, Cleveland Ballet, Chataqua Institute. Recently she studied expressive movement based on the Hebrew Aleph Beis with Judith Rose based on Otiyot Khayot. Yocheved has taught… Read more
Mirele Rosenberger – Jazz Pianist – Crown Heights, NY - Jazz Pianist. Since 1969, Mirele has taught music to dancers and accompanied their dance classes on piano and percussion in various colleges and universities, some of which are University of Maryland, Julliard Schools of Dance, Drama, and Opera, Sarah Lawrence College, Purchase University, N.Y.U., and the Connecticut College for Dance in New London. Mirele was commissioned to compose two pieces for a professional dance company, the Liz Keene Dance Company, which have been performed throughout… Read more
Shari Rosen – Opera Soprano – Baltimore, MD - Shari Rosen earned her Masters in Music in Voice Performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Music in 1991. While attending the Peabody, Shari performed numerous operatic roles with the Opera Theater and Workshop programs, as well as soloing with the Peabody Symphony and Peabody/Hopkins Chorus and winning first prize in Peabody's Sylvia Green Voice Competition. A native of Long Island, NY, Shari returned to her home state for three summers during her college years as… Read more
Keri Roth – Dancer – Toronto, CAN - Keri Roth (nee Saltzman) has over 20 years of experience in the dance world, has taught throughout Toronto, competed and performed internationally, and has extensive training in jazz, tap, ballet, lyrical, hip-hop, and flamenco. Keri’s energetic approach to teaching fosters a safe, fun and challenging environment for her students to develop as dancers and as individuals. As Co-Founder & Artistic Director of JCreative Group Inc., Keri looks forward to each day filled with creativity, action… Read more
Leslie (Gold) Ruder – Actress and Acting Teacher – Passaic, NJ - Leslie Gold Ruder spent ten years stage managing, casting, and producing plays off-Broadway and in regional theatres, followed by ten years of an acting career, with training from the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, the Walnut Street Theatre School and the Wilma Theatre in Philadelphia, and with private coaches in Los Angeles. Leslie now teaches acting to women of all ages and backgrounds in private classes, as well as at seminaries and Israeli girls'… Read more
Esther Rachel Russell – Screenwriter, Performer, Producer, Laughter Therapist – NJ - Esther Rachel Russell MA, is a screenwriter, performer, producer, laughter therapist and the creator of the Comedy Improvisation Workshop: To Break Through Barriers. Most recently, she performed in the acclaimed off-Broadway comedy, A Match Made in Manhattan - The Interactive Jewish Wedding Experience where she played the role of Rivky Lowenstein, mother of the bride. Her improv comedy career began at the famous Groundlings Theater in Los Angeles where she wrote and performed in numerous… Read more
Miriam Sandler – Singer-Songwriter – Passaic, NJ - Miriam Sandler never planned on becoming a professional singer but at the tender age of 18, she began touring as a background singer/dancer with numerous American and Hispanic recording artists. After receiving a Jazz Vocal Performance degree from the world renowned program at the University of Miami, she was chosen to join Jon Secada and Gloria Estefan for concert tours and TV/ video appearances. Her experience on stage was paralleled by her recording career as… Read more
Jessica Schechter – Actress, Comedienne, Director – NY - Jessica is an NYU graduate and holds a B.S. in Educational Theatre and a double minor in Dramatic Literature and Studio Art. She is a certified theatre teacher in New York State and has been teaching, directing, and running drama programs for over seven years. Trained through Stanislavsky and Hagen techniques, Jessica’s acting credits include Anne (The Diary of Anne Frank), Miss Barrett (Up the Down Staircase), Marian (The Music Man), Peggy Swift (Father of… Read more
Marilyn Selber – Puppeteer – Riverdale, NY - Marilyn Golomb Selber (Morah Michal), a practicing attorney, is a graduate of Stern College for Women, of Yeshiva University, and New York University School of Law. She has studied at Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration of Yeshiva University and has studied drama at Herbert Berghof Studio in Greenwich Village. She has been a classroom teacher in Limudei Kodesh and has brought K’eelu: Torah Theater to schools, Jewish centers and, for the past… Read more
Miriam Sherr – Actress – Crown Heights, NY - Miriam is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and the Laguardia High School for the Performing Arts, the mother of B’H nine children and numerous grandchildren. Read more
Kari (Isaacson) Siegel – ATARA Founding Member; Dancer – Detroit, MI - Kari (Isaacson) Siegel has performed and trained in modern dance and contact improvisation across Canada. She has danced since childhood, studying a variety of contemporary styles as well as musical theatre, tap, jazz, ballet, stilt walking and acting. Kari has also worked as a stage manager and in theatre publicity, production, and administration for companies both large and small in Toronto, including Livent Inc. Kari is a founding member of the Toronto dance and performance… Read more
Aviva Speigel – ATARA Contributing Board; Dancer – Tzfat, Israel - Aviva Speigel founded and produces the Tambourine Dream Festival in Israel. She also produces many other events and celebrations for women in Tzfat, Israel, and teaches dance improv, creative art workshops, and “Gym-dance-Shticks” for women and girls. Aviva is passionate about connecting women together so that we can help each other to move deeper into connection with ourselves, each other, and haKadosh Baruch Hu. Prior to making aliyah, Aviva co-directed the Chabad House Jewish Student… Read more
Hannah Stern – Vocalist, Dancer, Actress – Monsey, NY - Hannah has been singing, dancing, and acting since before she can remember. She grew up in Agoura Hills, California amidst a very musical family. Hannah attributes almost everything she knows about singing and acting to her mother - a classically trained singer and actress, who's passion for musical theatre was infused within her daughter. Hannah trained in California for 10 years in many dance styles, with a focus on ballet and modern dance. She now… Read more
Nechama Tarlow – Drummer – NJ - Nechama Tarlow is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Board Certified Music Therapist practicing in New Jersey. Although a classically trained flutist, her favorite way to make music is through improvisation, which is easily facilitated with drums and percussion instruments. Nechama trained with Arthur Hull, renowned Drum Circle Facilitator, and uses percussion instruments as a key part of her music therapy practice. While doing fieldwork for her Masters Degree at Wurzweiler School of Social Work… Read more
Tziona Achishena – Musician, Singer, Songwriter – Israel - Tziona lives in Northern Israel, where she performs her moving original compositions and teaches singing, Torah, and prayer. She is a mulit-instrumentalist who plays guitar, piano, riq (a Middle Eastern tambourine), harmonium, and the Persian santur. After living in California, performing improvised music with free Jazz giants such as Charles Gayle, and producing story-theatres and an album of original music, she returned to her Jewish roots and moved to Israel. She channeled her diverse background,… Read more