Cantor Estherleon Schwartz: Media

Estherleon Schwartz

(December 5, 1941) is a French-born cantor who obtained American citizenship in 1948 and currently resides in Southern California, United States of America. She is a Los Angeles based community leader promoting an agenda which includes unity, peace and anti-hunger through music and the spoken word. Schwartz’s motto: “Peace in a peaceful way.”

Contents

1 Education

2 Professional Accomplishments

3 Style

4 Philanthropy

5 Personal Life

6 Discography

7 Videography

8 Publications

9 Awards

9 Memberships

10 External links

11 Articles

Education

Schwartz’s first teacher was her father, Leon Maurice Schwartz, who taught her to sing the Sabbath prayers and encouraged her relationship with God. Although Schwartz longed to sing as a child and felt a deep connection to God, her mother, Rose Schwartz, discouraged her from both singing and spirituality. It would be many decades later in Los Angeles that Schwartz would formally study under the late, Cantor Allan Michelson, who became her mentor and guiding force in Schwartz’s development as a cantor.

Professional Accomplishments

Schwartz sang at the Hollywood Bowl for the 88th Annual Ecumenical Easter Sunrise Service on April 12, 2009. She founded three non-denominational spiritual reading rooms under the non-profit “Beth Shirah” (Hebrew for: “House of Song”) which were encouraged by contributions from the ““Righteous Persons Foundation””. She later opened a music/meditation room in 2008 at Dr. LeRoy Perry’s ““International Sportscience Institute”” (ISI) in Los Angeles and another in 2013 at the ““Lark Gallery”” in West Hollywood.

In 2009, Schwartz released her first book of memoirs in a poetic style: ““Tears of Stone And my deal with God – A true story””. Initially written as a letter to her children, the memories emerged as a coming-of-age story of a spiritual and creative woman who was dealt a life of adversity and extremes centered around a complex mother/daughter relationship.

On ““International Day of Peace,” October 10, 2013, Schwartz was invited to New York City by the ““Voices of Women Worldwide”” to speak on board a ‘ship of goodwill,’ the ““Global Peace Odyssey””, where she delivered a speech about remembering the world’s children who are victims of war. At sunset, the ship sailed on the East River in Manhattan towards the Statue of Liberty while Schwartz shared her personal story as a child of the Holocaust and sang songs. Surrounding Schwartz were youth Ambassadors and children from various schools around New York, dignitaries, representatives and high profile people such as the head of the New York Arch Diocese. Besides a showing on behalf of religious institutions and prominent establishments such as the United Nations, also present were members of the press.

A proponent of historical preservation through the art of storytelling, Schwartz associate produced a musical adaptation of the life of Holocaust survivor, Lucy Deutsch entitled, ““NO TIME TO WEEP””. The autographical musical was a guest production of the Los Angeles, Matrix Theatre on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood.

Schwartz has presided over cycles of life events, delivered invocations and has been invited to speak at such venues as the Buddhist Hsi Lai Temple, Los Angeles Baha'i Centre and the Braille Institute of America, among others.

Style

Schwartz Cantorial style is heavily influenced by European opera as well as traditional Hebrew Folk compositions. She is also known for her interpretations of various works from Puccini to musicians of modern Pop.

Philanthropy

In 1989, Schwartz was elected to the Board of the United Nations Association’s Los Angeles Pacific Chapter as an Ambassador for Peace. Concurrently, she founded the California (c)(3) non-profit, Beth Shirah, (House of Song). Ten years later, in 1999, Schwartz provided one of the first, inter-faith, Yom Kippur services in Los Angeles. Schwartz continues to provide inter-faith High Holy Day services for her community.

Along with her support for peace and eradicating hunger, Schwartz supports women’s programs, having donated her time to the Woman’s Club of Hollywood from 2003 – 2013. Often in philanthropic association with her women friends and colleagues, Schwartz gives the invocations to help with their endeavors, such as Carmelita Pittman, founder of The Rose Breast Cancer Society’s Annual Rose Variety Art Show, Ruth Klein’s 4G Branding workshop and Lark Larisa Pilinsky’s International Women’s Day event.

Schwartz’s anti-hunger activism includes individual and collaborative efforts to help replenish depleted local food banks on behalf of Los Angeles based ““SOVA”” and the ““Los Angeles Regional Food Bank””. Schwartz’s collaboration efforts include her singing partner, Ivor Pyres. Together they created ““Voices of Hope”” concerts which combine singing with children.

Reaching out to her local community to provide inner peace and serenity during changing economic times, Schwartz provided a Sunday arts and serenity retreat at Farmer’s Market (Los Angeles) from 2010 – 2013.

In May of 2014, feeling compelled to address the Rialto Unified School District’s Holocaust assignment, Leonard F. Delpit, Executive Director of ““The University of South Central”” and Daymond R. Johnson, President of the ““Animo Classified Employees Association””, approached Schwartz with their desire to create a venue to keep the history and truth of the Holocaust alive in Los Angeles schools and throughout the nation.

Delpit felt that Schwartz could be one of the last of a generation who could speak to youth today about what it was like to be a child survivor of the Holocaust. Schwartz immediately agreed to Delpit and Johnson’s invitation and created a living history, interactive, multi-media presentation with the assistance of her Creative Director, Ivor Pyres.

Complementing the living history presentation, Schwartz introduced her ““Gratitude Circles”” project at the end of her presentation, forming a circle of gratitude with the children in attendance. Schwartz wanted to help strengthen and create unity among the youth and dispel bullying and discrimination.

““The Living History - Gratitude Circles”” debuted at the ““Amino Pat Brown Charter High School”” in South Central Los Angeles on May 13th and was followed the next week on May 17th at ““Fairfax High School”” in Los Angeles. ““The Living History – Gratitude Circles”” program is expected to continue throughout Los Angeles during the 2014/2015 school schedule.

In recognition of her efforts to dispel religious and cultural discrimination to help achieve unification and peace, the ““MENSCH International Foundation”” (MIF) invited Schwartz to be a non-advisory Board member. On the heels of recognition from founder, Steve Geiger of MIF, Schwartz’s humanitarian outreach was also given kudos by [[Sir Michael Douglas Carlin]], a Knight of a rogue order of the Knights of Malta, who invited Schwartz to be honored with knighthood. Carlin presided as Schwartz was formally Knighted by Gail Blair, also a ““Knight of Malta””, both of whom being among the first few women to be afforded knighthood into this particular order.

Schwartz’s outreach includes recognizing and assisting the homeless and the infirm. Over the years, Schwartz has worked with the elderly at ““Dan Mar”” nursing home in Los Angeles. Schwartz also volunteers as a Para-Chaplain at Cedars Sinai Hospital bringing comfort to the ill with blessings, songs and the spoken word.

Personal

Schwartz’s father was a Polish businessman and her mother was a Viennese beauty queen. Schwartz was born in Marseilles, France when it was under Nazi occupation during World War II. At the age of three, Schwartz and her family escaped Nazi persecution when her parents found refuge in Switzerland. Four years later and along with hundreds of other refugees, Schwartz’s family arrived in New York aboard the Queen Mary. Eventually, the family settled in Los Angeles.

Schwartz grew up in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, attending Fairfax High School.

She married her high school sweetheart immediately upon graduation and had two children. The couple divorced in 1966 with Schwartz retaining custody of the children. Although she earned vocational degrees as a medical assistant and a counselor in early childhood development, with no formal education, Schwartz lived on the brink of poverty. Her strength came from her brother, Sam, and her father, (who died in 1973 from cancer ). In 1977, Schwartz partnered with Sam to open their first, ““House of Cashmere”””, store in Beverly Hills. Overnight, Schwartz went from rags to riches expanding the store into thirteen locations over seven years. It was during their sixth year in business that Schwartz’s brother committed suicide leaving Schwartz feeling alone and lost. Six years later during an auspicious Friday at temple, Schwartz’s destiny would be changed forever. Impassioned by the service, Schwartz’s heart called her to the pulpit. The next day she began her metamorphosis to become one of Los Angele’s first female cantors.

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Discography

Respectfully different, Estherleon & Theo - 2004

Sacred - 2005

Estherleon and - 2013

Videography

Eli Eli – 2013

What If – 2013

Cantor Estherleon Blessings – 2012

Pasqual’s Eye On The Arts: cantor Estherleon Schwartz – 2011

World Prayer Day for Peace with Cantor Estherleon Schwartz - 2007

World Peace Prayer Day LA – 2007