Professional Staff
Director of Education
Cantor Avital Lazar
(she/her)
A native New Yorker, Cantor Avital Lazar graduated from Occidental College in Los Angeles with a B.A. in Liberal Arts and music composition in 2003. Cantor Lazar received her Cantorial Investiture in May 2008 after completing a Master’s of Sacred Music at the HL Miller Cantorial School at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York City. She also completed a Master’s degree in Educational Psychology in 2022. She proudly taught 6th grade Jewish Studies at a prominent New York City Day School for eight consecutive years beginning in 2008. Avital has taught in Hebrew schools in the Reform, Reconstructing Judaism, and Conservative movements, working with students with varied learning needs as well as preparing students for B’nei Mitzvah for more than two decades.
An award winning vocalist and composer, Cantor Lazar has performed extensively throughout North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Also a commissioned composer, she has had original compositions and arrangements premiered by members of both the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestras.
Cantor Lazar is thrilled to continue bringing her extensive experience to Kane Street as our new Director of Education where she oversees the B’nei Mitzvah Journey as well as the Hebrew School.
Prior to her appointment as Director of Education at Kane Street, she held the position of Director of Liturgy and Learning.