Cantor Emily Wigod Pincus

For Cantor Emily Wigod Pincus, creating community through music is the foundation of her cantorial work. Finding the right music, poetry, and prayer that leads to a soul connection is her passion.

In addition to leading the congregation in prayer for Shabbat, High Holy Days and the Festivals, Cantor Pincus oversees the B’nei Mitzvah program; teaches trope to religious school students and adults; conducts the temple’s choir, leads Temple Tots services; officiates at life cycle events; and engages in traditional pastoral work. To enrich this work, she recently participated in an 18-month Clergy Leadership Program with the Institute for Jewish Spirituality which consisted of silent meditation, text study, and prayer.

A native New Yorker and former opera singer, Cantor Pincus studied voice at Manhattan School of Music and at La Escuela Superior de Canto in Madrid. While studying at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, she served as student cantor for Temple Beth-El of Fort Worth, Brooklyn Heights Synagogue, and Congregation Beth Israel in North Adams, Massachusetts. Cantor Pincus has also garnered numerous awards and prizes in the performance of both cantorial and contemporary Jewish music. Her investiture as Cantor in 2008, culminated a love for both music and Judaism that extends back to childhood.

Cantor Pincus and her husband, Drew, are new residents of Forest Hills. Between them, they have three children, Alexie, Bennet, and Nathaniel. In her free time, Cantor Pincus enjoys foreign language movies, all kinds of music, art, theater, and reading.