Cantor Staiman's Credentials
- Bachelor of Music, University of Toronto
- Masters of Sacred Music, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion(HUC-JIR), New York City
- Ordination as a Cantor, HUC-JIR, 1991
- Honorary Doctorate of Music, HUC-JIR, 2016
- Member of the American Conference of Cantors (ACC)
- Member of the Toronto Council of Hazzanim
- Licensed clergy, registered as a person authorized to solemnize marriage in the province of Ontario
About Cantor Staiman
A native of Toronto, Cantor Deborah Ruth Staiman has been singing since the age of twelve, when she sang in the Children's Chorus of the Canadian Opera Company. She began to combine her two loves of Judaism and singing when she was the first confirmad at Holy Blossom Temple to sing her part in the service. During her undergraduate years at the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto, Cantor Staiman taught music at Holy Blossom Temple and was also a soloist in the professional choir at Adath Israel Synagogue.After graduating from the University of Toronto, Staiman studied opera and the concert repertoire at the Guildhall School of music and Drama in London, England and furthered her studies in Rome and New York City. In New York she became very involved in synagogue life, which led her to return to school to become a cantor.
Deborah received her Masters of Sacred Music and Ordination as a Cantor from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Relgion in New York City in 1991. Cantor Staiman has served congregations in New Jersey, Florida and Toronto. In May of 2016 she received an honorary doctorate from HUC-JIR.
In addition to cantorial music, her repertoire includes Yiddish, Israeli and Broadway songs. She has performed extensively in England, Europe, Israel and throughout the United States and Canada.
In 2002, after 27 years and an international career, Staiman returned to Toronto to be near her parents and other family members.