ILANA DAVIDSON
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  • Home
  • biography
  • Serenata Chamber Series
  • Listen
  • Press
  • Recordings
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Teaching Studio: Vocally Mindful
ILANA DAVIDSON
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​Ilana Davidson's journey as a High Holyday cantorial soloist commenced at the age of 19 while pursuing her BFA in Voice and Opera at Carnegie Mellon University. Notably, Congregation Rodeph Shalom (Pittsburgh, PA) entrusted her with conducting overflow services throughout her undergraduate years, owing to her exceptional voice and profound knowledge of Jewish liturgy and synagogue music. 

Guided by her father and mentor, the esteemed Cantor and composer Charles Davidson Z"l, Ilana Davidson developed a profound passion for imbuing spiritual depth into congregational experiences through musical prayer.

Throughout her career, Ilana has continuously shared her moving interpretations in synagogues and Jewish organizations throughout the United States and Israel, performing works of Jewish composers in Hebrew, Ladino, Sardinian, Arabic, Russian, and Yiddish. She has an international singing career that has spanned music from the medieval to the present day, with numerous commercial recordings, one of which garnered four Grammy Awards. She is the artistic director of The Serenata Chamber Series and received her Master of Music from the Curtis Institute of Music.

She frequently performs and records Hebraic and Jewish music with prolific colleagues throughout the United States. Ilana brings her profound reverence for prayer and nusach to her role on pulpits, where she finds deep fulfillment in fostering spiritual connection within the community.

Ilana Davidson has served as a Cantorial soloist in Rodeph Shalom (Pittsburgh, PA), Temple Emanuel (Davenport, IA), Temple Sinai (Stamford, CT),  North Fork Reform Synagogue (Cutchogue, NY), and currently Congregation Sons Of Israel (Nyack, NY).
Ilana Davidson is a member of The Guild Of Temple Musicians
An Affiliate of the American Conference of Cantors

Notable Recent Jewish Music Performances

Carnegie Hall | The Orchestra Now New York, NY
From Jewish Folk Poetry | Shostakovich soprano soloist 

Elie Wiesel in Concert |  92 Street Y, New York, NY
Memories and Melodies of My Childhood |Soprano soloist 

A Hebrew Liederabend | YIVO, New York, NY
Ilana Davidson, soprano; Raphael Frieder, baritone; Elizabeth Shammash, mezzo soprano; & world-renowned pianist Yehudi Wyner. 

Anneliese | James Whitbourn; a setting of the Diary of Anne Frank, New York, NY
Riverside Choral Society; Patrick Gardner, conductor; Ilana Davidson as Anne Frank 

Steal A Pencil For Me | Gerald Cohen | world premier | role: Ina Soep
●  Jewish Theological Seminary of America, New York, NY
●  Shaarei Tikvah, Scarsdale New York, NY
●  Congregation Beth El of Montgomery County, Bethesda, MD 


The North American Jewish Choral Festival | Kerhonkson, NY
Honoring Charles Davidson, Samuel Adler, and Jack Gottlieb 
Soloist: Pillar of Fire עמוד האש. Amud Ha'Esh by Charles Davidson

Commercial Jewish recordings


The Birthday of the World, Part 1, Rosh Hashanah
Matthew Lazar, Western Wind Ensemble, Leonard Nemoy 
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The Birthday of the World, Part 2, Yom Kippur
Matthew Lazar, Western Wind Ensemble

Yontef! A Celebration Of Yamim Noraim, The High Holydays
Soprano soloist, High Holyday Quartet, Cantor Jacob Ben-Zion Mendelson

listen

NPR Tribute to Hazzan Charles S. Davidson

teaching and masterclasses 


Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music |  New York, NY Guest Clinician, Masterclass 

H.L. Miller Cantorial School | New York, NY
Private Voice Teacher, Opera, Art Song, Recital, Vocal Jury Preparation, Technique, Diction

education and Training


Carnegie Mellon University, Pgh, PA — Bachelor of Voice 
The Curtis Institute of Music, Phila, PA — Master of Music 
Tanglewood Music Center, Lenox, MA — Phyllis Curtin Seminar / Vocal Fellow 
Cantorial Certification — Hazzan Charles Davidson Z”l | Ph.D.Music, Professor JTS-CI
Self-study and continuous learning program on Nusach, Jewish Ceremonial life and competence. 

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