Rooted in Ritual, expanding in Creativity.
Leah Shoshanah is a songwriter, Cantorial Soloist and educator who weaves her eclectic creative background with Jewish prayer to uplift joy, open the heart and facilitate connection.
Leah began studying music at age 4, Hebrew and prayer at age 10, and continued on to traverse the mediums of musical theater, opera, acting, improv, puppetry, journalism, movement, yoga, meditation, experiential education and folk-funk band-leading.
Leah is based in Chicago where she leads services, facilitates song circles and mentors students in music and prayer. She collaborates regularly with several communities in the Midwest and she has worked with communities in New York, California and Colorado. She continues to tour regularly.
Latest Musical Release - Shalom Rav
The daughter of a musician and a visual artist, Leah frequently collaborates with her family on her musical recordings and cover art. This live “living room studio” recording features her dad, David Cowen, on cello and paintings by her mother, Wendy Segal.
Leah’s long-time friend, Sam Hyson plays violin, and her cousin and fellow songwriter, Adam Gottlieb, recorded the session. This very special prayer is a combination of the Shalom Rav prayer and the Aleinu prayer, which speaks to our partnership with G!d in bringing peace to our world.
Offerings
Here are ways that your community can create with Leah.
Host a Shabbaton : Bring Leah to your community for a weekend of prayer and song. A full Shabbaton weekend includes a Friday night service, a Saturday morning service, a concert and a workshop.
Hire Leah as a Guest Cantorial Soloist/Musician : Bring Leah to your community to provide compassionate and engaging musical prayer leadership for services, holy days, festivals, B Mitzvahs, funerals, and celebrations.
Host a Song Circles : Bring Leah to your community for a song circle, which includes a mix of original, contemporary , cultural and historic Jewish songs that are easy to sing along with and often have multiple interlocking parts.
Plan a Concert : Bring Leah to your community for a concert of original Jewish music and folk music curated to meet the needs of your community. These concerts usually involve lots of singing along!
“Thanks to Leah Shoshanah, we’ve fallen in love with coming to services again. Her deep and lively music awakens something in all of us. She blends creativity and artistry in a way that lifts our spirits and elevates our worship.”
— Rabbi Schachar Orenstein, Shir Hadash, Wheeling, IL
Leah’s original Lecha Dodi with her Shabbat Band, “The Lights” at Shir Hadash Synagogue.
I was deeply moved by the beauty and power of her voice and presence. Leah combines traditional songs and blessings, her own original music and a passion for social justice in a way that immediately invited me into the congregation. With respect and love, Leah shares music in many languages and heritages, highlighting our human interconnectedness at a time when the world is in such deep need for compassion, justice, peace and solidarity. Over the last ten years, it’s been exciting to observe Leah develop as a musician—her voice both grounded and ethereal. I have also had the chance to sing alongside Leah as part of Music Makers, an experience that has been deeply fulfilling and exciting, an immensely enriching and joyous opportunity. By helping me to grow as a musician, Leah has extended kindness and generosity that means the world to me.—
—Deborah Adelman, Chicago
Live Videos of Leah’s Original Prayer Adaptations
A Sensitive Awareness of Grief & Ritual
Leah has a tender spirit. She has worked with families to provide music and prayer through grief rituals, memorials and funerals. She has also sung bedside for those are ailing and in hospice. She is currently in the midst of earning her Certificate as a Music Practitioner through the Music for Healing and Transition Program, which helps inform her ability to listen and respond to the community during tender the moments surrounding transitions.
“Leah Shoshanah brought her wonderful spirit and positive energy to our community, and her music, including original pieces, was uplifting and inspiring! She brings her all to the project! She sings from the heart, and connects with the people she is working with and singing with.
-Rabbi Shalom Bochner, B’nai Israel Jewish Center, Petaluma CA
Prayers with an Emphasis on Social Justice
An original Shalom Rav that speaks to the work we must do and are currently doing in bringing peace to the world.
An original Or Hadash that likens the Or, the “light” to the Kabbalistic concept of the “Or HaGanuz” (the hidden light). In this take on the prayer, the hidden light emerges to show the shadows we must pass through in order to build a more just word — the world to come (Olam Habah).
“Anyone who is looking for a cantorial soloist should jump at the chance to work with Leah Shoshanah. She strikes this rare mix of knowing the traditional songs and blessings so well, at the same time as bringing her own deep and meaningful originality to bear.”
-Maya Schenwar, editor-in-chief of Truthout Magazine, Chicago
Liturgical and Jewish Cultural Music
Studio Recordings of Original Jewish Music
Leah is also a producer who has arranged, music directed and edited all of her own releases.
We had the extraordinary joy and privilege of welcoming Leah Shoshanah as our cantorial soloist over the High Holy Days this year. She was both an incredibly spiritual presence and a consummate professional. I worked with her on all of the aspects of planning the services and the music Throughout the planning process, she was open to my thoughts and also ready to make suggestions as to how to assure that our services would be the most impavtful. There were a number of songs that were familiar to our congregation that she did not know, but she did not hesitate to jump in and learn quite a lot of new music in order to maximize the experience for our members. We were particularly touched by her own compositions, which clearly came directly from her heart. A number of my members described being moved to tears multiple times during the ten days. She is a gift to every community that is fortunate enough to have the opportunity to host her.
— Rabbi Shoshanah Kaminsky, Temple Beth-El, South Bend, IN
Bridging the Divide with Song
Leah curates concerts and song circles to hold the tension of this moment and bring communities together around Israel/Palestine.
This song speaks to the wholeness, the “Shalem” within peace, “Shalom”. This song asks us all to take a step closer toward being whole.
This song is a work-in-progress. I still haven’t found a way to nuance this song to express the harm that both sides have caused to the other and the complexities of taking that step closer in terms of our emotional capacity and safety.
This performance at Tikkun V’Or (Ithaca) was shaped around bridging the divide and easing tensions between anti-Zionist and Zionist community members.
This video is a performance of Leah's musical adaptation of Refaat Alareer's "If I Must Die".
The introduction to the song speaks to work Leah does in bridging divides within Jewish communities. This performance is from Tikkun V'Or congregation in Ithaca NY, where she curated a concert specifically to meet the moment of the political divides surrounding Israel/Palestine within the congregation.
“Leah Shoshanah brought exactly what our community needed during a challenging time. As tensions ran high in our congregation around differing perspectives on Israel and Palestine, her work as a bridge-builder and healer through music was precisely what could serve us… Her Saturday night performance was transformative… She had us being silly, dancing, crying, laughing—really experiencing the full spectrum of our humanity.”
— Michael Margolin, Spiritual Leader and Rabbinical Student at Congregation Tikkun v’Or
YouTube Videos that went viral.
Check out these videos to see what the buzz is all about.
“She sings like an angel, knows her liturgy backwards and forwards, and has written countless interpretations of scripture set to her own original melodies and translations.”
— Caryn Chaden, Chicago
Music for Jewish Young People
Leah has a number of original songs written for Jewish youth! Check out this music video of a Passover Ska Song!
“To round out the weekend, Leah Shoshanah led our religious school students in song with remarkable skill and attentiveness. Her ability to meet people where they are, whether adults navigating complex emotions or children eager to play and discover, is truly a gift.”
—Michael Margolin, Spiritual Leader and Rabbinic Student, Tikkun V’Or, Ithaca NY
Contact Us
Leah Shoshanah is available for concerts, including Shabbat services, concerts, workshops, weddings and b’nai mitzvot.
