Biography of Cantor Sharon Brown-Levy

Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, Cantor Sharon Brown-Levy studied Hebrew extensively through the United Hebrew Academy and Conservative division of Gratz College Hebrew High School, where she graduated as Valedictorian. 

Sharon moved to Florida in 1989 to study classical voice and Spanish Education at the University of South Florida. She holds three summa laude degrees in these fields. Upon graduation, she was chosen to study voice as an apprentice artist at the International Institute of Vocal Arts in Chiari, Italy.

For the next eight years, Sharon balanced cantorial work with a career on the professional stage. She has performed leading roles in the genres of opera, solo orchestral, operetta, zarzuela (Spanish operetta), Broadway musicals, and big bands. She has also taught voice at Eckerd College and the University of Tampa.

Brown-Levy’s cantorial journey began at the age of 17, when she served as a soloist and Hebrew teacher at the United Hebrew Academy of her youth. Two years later she balanced a full-time double major, a job as music specialist/ song-leader for a large Reform congregation in Tampa, and soloist work for a small Conservative synagogue in Clearwater, FL. Her great professional leap came in 1995, when she joined the professional staff of Temple Beth-El as their soloist. For the next eleven years, her duties grew exponentially as she served in the capacities of soloist, intern, and cantor.

In 2002 Brown-Levy was accepted into a rigorous dual internship program of certification through the Cantors Assembly (CA, Conservative) and the American Conference of Cantors (ACC, Reform) In the spring of 2005 she completed her certification requirements, with distinction, for both the CA and ACC, earning her the titles of Hazzan or Cantor.

Brown-Levy co-founded the Bay Area Cantorial Association (BACA) in 2002. This group of cantorial singers networks and concertizes to raise funds for students of cantorial schools. In 2006, after accepting the position of Cantor at Temple Emanu-El, Sharon was asked to join the nation's oldest established state organization of cantors, the New Jersey Cantors Concert Ensemble (NJCCE). The NJCCE also concertizes to promote the education of cantorial students.

Cantor Brown-Levy is married to Eytan Levy. The daughter of a music and Hebrew scholar and the son of a Conservative rabbi, Sharon and Eytan are delighted to be a part of the vibrant, haimish family that is Temple Emanu-El.  They are thrilled to welcome their first child, Mattan Akiva, born in May of 2008.

Contact Cantor Brown-Levy at cantor@emanuel.org or 973-992-5560.