Cantor* Sarah Freudenberger
*…to be, as of January 9, 2022
If you would like to honor my ordination with a donation to ALEPH,
I invite you to visit this page.
I am thrilled to be a candidate for Smicha with this amazing class of 2022. Especially bolstered by davening leadership training through AOP, I have always believed a Cantor should be warm, friendly, and approachable, singing with the congregation rather than for them. I am eternally passionate about bringing Judaism to young families and welcoming all people into the synagogue doors.
During my own Bat Mitzvah preparation, the Cantor wrote a note on my “sign-in board” that read-- if you want to be Cantor, you’ve got the goods! Once I realized it was a job, I was in. I continued to sing on the bima throughout my young adult years and began filling in for cantors during college. My mom Darlene came with me and always said “You have a gift!”. She never wavered in her belief that being a Cantor was always my destiny. I studied music education and voice at the University of Miami Frost School of Music. I was specially blessed with diverse performance opportunities growing up outside of synagogue as well: singing as a choral soprano and in musical theater productions, competing in Sweet Adelines and Miss America pageants, and even dancing at NCAA football and basketball games.
Photo: Aria Freudenberger
I had plans to go to Cantorial School after my undergraduate studies, but a few roadblocks led me off that immediate path. Totally out of the blue, I was asked to audition for a full-time Assistant Cantor position a few weeks before graduation. My dad Richard bought me my first guitar before my interview and made sure I was ready to play those first few chords needed for every Jewish song. I was at that large synagogue in Boca Raton, Florida until 2021, other than a short break for a Master’s degree in Non-profit Studies from Arizona State University. My accomplishments in Boca include engaging young families through developing a successful large youth choir model and through community programs partnering with PJ Library. Some additional professional experience “to note” has been running successful mommy and me music programs in two states and coordinating youth programming for a major orchestra.
I am now serving as the Cantor at Shirat Hayam in Swampscott, Massachusetts, and am overwhelmingly grateful for the guidance of my ALEPH teachers and mentors, especially Hazzan Jack Kessler for preparing me to take on this role. To be able to use so much of the nusach I have studied over these years has especially been rewarding these past few months in this very special place on the North Shore of Boston.
Most of you know me best, though, for always having a little girl tagging along at Smicha Week or two little girls poking their heads into my Zoom boxes in class! I want to thank my children Aria (10) and Ada (6) for understanding why mommy is always doing work or in class. Through the last five years, they have been listening to my classes, practice sessions, and readings with rapt interest, even past their bedtime. A favorite activity in our house has been my husband Peter Freudenberger, also an accomplished musician, playing my Cantorial homework assignments on bass trombone. My parents were always available to babysit to make traveling to in-person AOP learning possible for this working mom and to make sure that nothing stood in the way of my goal to become an ordained Cantor. Not only has the AOP welcomed me, but my entire family as well. I know we will all be so happy to participate in Ohalah & Kallah in the future when we can all gather safely again. We are so thankful for the world that has opened up for us spiritually through our participation in ALEPH and Jewish renewal. I especially want to thank my Mashpiah Reb Nadya Gross for guiding me through these giant life transitions with grace and ease. To all of my teachers and mentors in the AOP, I have never met such kind, wise, caring, and creative faculty at any institution. Every semester I am blown away by the caliber of talent of both the faculty and the students. To my fellow Cantorial classmates and colleagues, thank you for guiding me through your own learning and walking beside me as I tried many, many new skills; our group and the comradery and care that we have for each other cannot be found anywhere else. Nusach police hats for everyone!
If you would like to honor my ordination with a donation to ALEPH,
I invite you to visit this page.
You are invited to share your stories and memories of Sarah in the comments section below. (Note: you will not be able to “like” or respond to other people’s comments if you are using Chrome or Safari.)