Cantor Kalix Jacobson

Cantor Kalix is delighted to be part of the Temple David community!

Cantor Kalix holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and master’s degrees in sacred music and Jewish nonprofit management. They were ordained as a cantor by Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion in 2023. They have worked in cantorial settings since 2014 and have sung professionally since the age of 14.

Deeply committed to the Jewish community of Pittsburgh, Cantor Kalix came to Temple David after serving at Temple Emanuel of South Hills from 2023 to 2026. As Temple Emanuel’s first cantor in 50 years, they helped guide the congregation through worship, music, education, pastoral care, and community life.

Cantor Kalix is also an accomplished composer and writer whose work has been commissioned by institutions including Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City. Their compositions and leadership have received multiple honors, including the Rabbi Sarah Messinger Prize, the Josef Frudenthal Prize, the Palm Beach Liturgical Cultural Foundation Prize, and the Lee Gura Memorial Prize.

In 2023, Cantor Kalix was ordained alongside Cantors Ze’evi Tovlev and Jordan Goldstein as part of the first cohort of openly transgender and nonbinary cantors ordained by Hebrew Union College. Today, they are among the small number of cantors serving Reform congregations as sole spiritual leaders—and are believed to be the first openly transgender or nonbinary cantor to lead a congregation in that capacity. They hope they will not hold that distinction for long!

Cantor Kalix began serving Temple David in July 2026 and is deeply grateful to call this wonderful community home.

 

 

 

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