Cantor David believes that all singing is prayer. Music is a holy and profound medium to access God. Finding those melodies that reach right into our hearts to access just the right mood, style, and moment when God is needed — that is an artistic and intellectual duty he takes seriously. Sharing that love of music and praying with others becomes the the honor of every cantor.

He enjoys the entire range of being a Cantor. He loves working with children in the religious school, preparing students to become B’nei Mitzvah, teaching adult education, working with leaders of other faiths to create interfaith programming, and offering pastoral care. Pastoral counseling has become such an important part of his cantorate, that he completed a 400-hour unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) with the Jewish Theological Seminary. He has also offered a wide-range of Jewish programming for the LGBTQ+ community.

An artist at heart, he wrote and performed a one-man show entitled “My Soul’s Been Anchored: A Black and Jewish American Story” that he has performed at several synagogues in the northern New Jersey region. The show is a one-hour revue of his life — growing up with his White Jewish mother and Black father. As he narrates the lessons and moments of significance in his life, the program is interspersed with songs from of opera, musical theater, spirituals, and the Jewish American songbook.

As a thought-leader and scholar, he has written articles on a multitude of Jewish topics. His article “The Holy Duty of Advocating for Racial Justice” was published in the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) publication, Prophetic Voices: Renewing and Reimagining Haftarah. As a biblical commentator, he was asked by the Union of Reform Judaism to be their featured writer to write a D’var Torah for each parashah (Torah portion) of the book of Leviticus, which is featured on their website.

Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Cantor David received a B.A. from the University of Maryland College Park in Theater, a Professional Studies Diploma and an Artist Diploma from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and he was ordained from Hebrew Union College—Jewish Institute of Religion in 2021, after receiving a Masters in Sacred Music in 2020. His Masters thesis was entitled, “Tsiporah’s Children: The Music and Lived Experience of Jewish Black Americans.”

Cantor David currently serves Temple Sinai of Summit, New Jersey. Before then, he was the Cantor Educator at Temple Emanuel in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He lives in Maplewood with his partner Corey and their cat, Mordechai. When he’s not singing praises to God, David practices yoga and cooks vegan feasts!

BOOKING

If you are interested in having me visit your congregation, here are options I offer as to how that would look:

 Three-Day Artist-in-Residence Weekend:

·      FRIDAY: I would arrive in the late morning on Friday and join with your clergy to lead an Erev Shabbat service, including a sermon-and-song.

·      SATURDAY MORNING: I would also join your clergy to lead an extra musical Shabbat morning service. After the service, I would give a Lunch-and-Learn, sharing my research on my thesis: The Music and Lived Experiences on Jewish Black Americans.

·      SATURDAY EVENING: I would perform in a 60–75-minute concert of Jewish music, spirituals, Broadway showtunes and operatic favorites.

·      SUNDAY MORNING: I would work with your religious school director to arrange for me to go to religious school classrooms and teach. At the end of the school day, there would be a 30-minute school-wide assembly where all the children would perform. 

Evening and Morning Shabbat plus Saturday Evening Concert

·      FRIDAY: I would arrive in the late morning on Friday and join with your clergy to lead an Erev Shabbat service, including a sermon-and-song.

·      SATURDAY MORNING: I would join your clergy to lead an extra musical Shabbat morning service. After the service, I would give a Lunch-and-Learn, sharing my research on my thesis: The Music and Lived Experiences on Jewish Black Americans.

·      SATURDAY EVENING: I would perform in a 60–75-minute concert of Jewish music, spirituals, Broadway showtunes and operatic favorites.

Evening and Morning Shabbat

·      FRIDAY: I would arrive in the late morning on Friday and join with your clergy to lead an Erev Shabbat service, including a sermon-and-song.

·      SATURDAY MORNING: I would join your clergy to lead an extra musical Shabbat morning service. After the service, I offer two options: (A) Lunch-and-Learn, sharing my research on my thesis: The Music and Lived Experiences on Jewish Black Americans, or (B) A 45-minute afternoon lecture concert (generally, 4-5 songs with teaching preceding each piece.

One-night Only

I would perform in a 60–75-minute concert of Jewish music, spirituals, Broadway showtunes and operatic favorites.