Cantor Gabrielle Clissold, a 1998 graduate of the School of Sacred Music of the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City, joined the staff of Monmouth Reform Temple in July of 2002.
Cantor Clissold holds a B.A. in European History and a B.M. in Vocal Performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. During her required year of study in Jerusalem for cantorial school, she studied with an expert in Israeli art song, Cilla Grossmeyer and Hazzan Naftali Hershtig, of the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem. She currently studies voice with Ms. Taina Kataja, Professor of Voice at Mason Gross-School of the Arts.
Gabrielle began as a cantorial soloist and religious school teacher at Temple Emanu-El in Greensboro, North Carolina and from that experience as a soloist and a teacher; she decided to apply to Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion to become an invested Cantor. While attending cantorial School at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, she served for three years as student cantor at Beth-El in Hillsborough, New Jersey. Her first full time position was at Temple Judea in Coral Gables, Florida where she served as Cantor for four years. Now back in New Jersey, Gabrielle resides in Manalapan with her husband John -- a teacher at Freehold Regional Township High School, and their two children Asher and Simon.
While at HUC-JIR, she was the Student Treasurer of the College-Institute student association. She received a variety of prizes for her work at the college, including the Rabbi Sarah Messinger Prize, the Alpert Award and graduated with honors. Recently, she created a double CD set called Celebrate Shabbat for Monmouth Reform Temple to facilitate congregational singing. Some of her special interests include a love of Jewish choral music, cantillation, and the music of composer Max Helfman. In addition to her busy life as a cantor and mom, she performs in cantorial concerts all over the country.
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