5786 AWARD RECIPIENT
The Association of Rabbis and Cantors( ARC) is proud to build on our ongoing partnership with the Academy for Jewish Religion. One of the things that sets AJR and ARC apart from other Jewish seminaries is our commitment to pluralism and training cantors and rabbis together. We are here as a professional association and alumni organization to serve the needs of our members as a source of education, honest communication, and inspiration.
Cantor Sandy Horowitz is part of how we have gotten to this point. She brings energy, vision and enthusiasm to her work as a cantor and to her membership in ARC.
CANTOR SANDY HOROWITZ ARC Alumna of the Year
When I came to AJR as a cantorial student in 2008 I had had two prior careers, as a computer systems analyst and then as a massage therapist. My musical experience centered around 16th & 17th century Italian music, both as soloist and avid ensemble singer.
I am immensely grateful to my teachers at AJR for their commitment and generosity, as they taught me to use my previous musical experience for the sake of becoming a hazzan, and instilled in me a deep love of sacred text.
As a cantor I’ ve wrestled with what I believe to be a fundamental challenge: how to balance mastery of repertoire, craft and technique with the quest to be shaliah tzibbur, a messenger of prayer for the congregation?
To borrow from Tales of the Hassidim, as cantors we must keep a note in each pocket. When feeling low and inadequate, reach into the right pocket and be reminded,“ I was born into this world so that I may lift my finest voice in praise to the Holy One”; when feeling high and mighty, reach into the left pocket and be reminded,“ I am a mere vessel, an instrument through which the
She has worked on any number of tasks on behalf of ARC and AJR including the ARC Liturgy Award Committee, the AJR Divrei Torah Schedule, and on the admissions interviewing committee, making sure that the viewpoint of cantors is in the foreground. She even taught a class online at the beginning of COVID. Her beautiful voice has graced ordination. She delights in encountering ARC members and people from AJR and discovering that common connection.
Her gentle wisdom, her vision, and her optimism are gifts to ARC and to the AJR community. It is with great honor and respect that as president of ARC I present Cantor Sandy Horowitz with the ARC Alumna of the Year Award.
Rabbi Margaret Frisch Klein President, Association of Rabbis and Cantors
kahal may offer praise to the Holy One”.
Following ordination in 2014 I worked as Cantor / Religious School Educator at Congregation Adas Emuno in Leonia NJ, and Cantor and Kol Bo at Beth Am the People’ s Temple in Washington Heights NY, where I am now Cantor Emerita. I’ ve also been a Hebrew school classroom teacher, b ' nei mitzvah and cantillation tutor, Torah study group facilitator, and continue to engage with sacred text through written word and song.
It is an honor to receive this Alumna Award; I feel proud to be a part of the AJR and ARC communities, where I have found lifelong friends and colleagues.
30 AJR 2026