Cantor considered perfect fit

Resident hired for job after national search

Larry Cruikshank/ViewCantor Marla Goldberg teaches third-graders a song on May 19 at Temple Sinai, 9001 Hillpointe Road. Larry Cruikshank/ViewCantor Marla Goldberg teaches third-graders a song on May 19 at Temple Sinai, 9001 Hillpointe Road. Larry Cruikshank/ViewCantor Marla Goldberg teaches third-graders a song on May 19 at Temple Sinai, 9001 Hillpointe Road. Advertisement

It took four months and a national search to find the perfect person. As it turned out, she was living right under their noses.

Marla Goldberg officially will join Temple Sinai as its cantor on July 1. The temple is located at 9001 Hillpointe Road and presided over by Rabbi Kenneth Segel.

Goldberg moved to Las Vegas last year. She came from Florida to live with her mother, a resident of Sun City Summerlin.

She is not just any cantor. Goldberg is the only Reform denomination cantor in town and also is classified as an invested cantor.

"An invested cantor and a rabbi work as a team," she said. "It's more than just singing."

The distinction means she can officiate at various ceremonies -- marriages, baby namings, funerals -- and is qualified to teach classes. She also will teach bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs to young people.

"Together with Rabbi (Kenneth) Segel, we shall proudly offer a strong, multi-talented clergy team that is second to none," said Lawrence Copeland, temple president.

Goldberg's education in sacred music is extensive and includes the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, which established its School of Sacred Music in 1948. She earned a master of sacred music degree in 2006.

She comes to Temple Sinai most recently from Temple Beth-El in St. Petersburg, Fla. Goldberg's list of awards and scholarships includes the Forcheimer Scholarship, the Cantor Walter Davidson Prize, the Morris W. Smith Prize, the Rabbi Stephen S. Pearce Prize, and the Palm Beach Liturgical Prize.

Most recently, she received the second place Division 6 Southern Nevada Award from the Nation Association of Teachers of Singing.

At the Summerlin temple, her main duties will require her to be part of services.

"It's a great feeling to ... lead prayers musically," Goldberg said.

The selection process began with looking at applications supplied by the offices of the American Conference of Cantors, which is the Reform Movement's professional body for seminary-trained cantors. The choices were narrowed down until there were 14 applicants from all over the United States and Canada. Demo CDs then allowed the committee to further pinpoint prospective candidates.

Three were given face-to-face interviews.

At hers, Goldberg displayed "a sense of warmth and sincerity, all with a hint of humor," Segel said. "She was the best candidate, not because she was already here and the most convenient ... It was like she matched all the test scores, fit the psychological profile we were looking for."

The choice was unanimous among the executive committee, which consisted of Segel and six others.

"It was like this (decision) had fallen into our laps," Segel said. "There's a Yiddish word -- beshert -- it means fate. This was beshert."