It is with excitement and joy that we announce that Cantor Emma Lutz will become Senior Cantor of Stephen Wise Temple, effective July 1, 2021.

Since joining the Wise community after being ordained from HUC-JIR in 2016, Cantor Lutz has been engaged in every aspect of our synagogue and schools. Through leading services, officiating at life cycle events, creating and overseeing programming, teaching adult education courses, and managing both our adult and youth B’nai Mitzvah programs, Cantor Emma has proven herself to be a remarkable member of our team. Emma is also a major contributor to the education of our youth in our parenting center, early childhood program, Center for Youth Engagement, and Wise School. Children, parents, and members of all ages have been inspired by her teaching, beautiful voice, outstanding musicianship, warmth, and engaging presence.

As we were preparing for an eventual succession of our Senior Cantor role, work has been underway this year to identify candidates. After a thorough series of conversations with leaders in the Cantorial community as well as Senior Rabbis and synagogue presidents across North America, and after consideration of other potential applicants, again and again we heard the words that we already knew to be true: “The ideal candidate for Stephen Wise Temple is already on your staff—Cantor Emma Lutz.”

Beloved by our own community for so many reasons, she has also gained a national reputation as one of the most promising Cantors of her generation. The Director of Placement for the American Conference of Cantors (ACC), Cantor Kay Greenwald, described Emma as a consummate professional who “brings warmth, sincerity, and innate intelligence to all that she does.” Cantor Claire Franco, President of the ACC, shared that the “American Conference of Cantors fell in love with Cantor Lutz during our 2017 convention. Her beautiful voice and spirit captivated the entire conference as she led Tefilah. She is truly a shining star in our organization and we are blessed to have her as our colleague.” Wise Senior Rabbi Emeritus Eli Herscher says that “Emma’s gift is not only the beauty of her voice, but the depth of her spirit. She lifts words of prayer from off the pages of the siddur, turns them into song, and raises them to prayer. How blessed we are that she is our Cantor, always growing in her wisdom, in her strength of presence, and in her capacity to inspire our prayer.”

We know that many of you already have deep connections with Cantor Emma and her family. For those of you who might be new to the community or who simply haven’t yet had a chance to spend time with her, our Senior Cantor Transition Committee, co-chaired by Jeremy Rosen and Andrea Sonnenberg, will create a series of “meet and greet” events with Cantor Emma where you will have opportunities to connect with her, experience her warmth and intelligence, and imagine the future of our community.

We know you join us in wishing Cantor Emma, her spouse, Rabbi Adam Lutz, and their daughter Ruby “mazal tov!” We will update you about this exciting transition in the months to come, including plans for an installation ceremony for our new Senior Cantor sometime in the fall.