Cantor Emma Lutz was born and raised in Walnut Creek, California where her family and community instilled in her a deep love of Judaism and music. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California, Davis with degrees in Religious Studies and Music. Cantor Lutz received her Master of Sacred Music in 2015 and was ordained in 2016 by the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, NY.
Before attending HUC-JIR, Cantor Lutz worked as a soloist, youth group advisor, and Hebrew School teacher at synagogues throughout the Bay Area. She also worked as an actress and soloist for numerous theatre companies, including Center REPertory Company, Diablo Theatre Company, and the Napa Valley Opera House. In addition, after college Cantor Lutz spent time volunteering for the Israel Defense Forces through Sar-El, the National Project for Volunteers for Israel.
During her first year of cantorial school at HUC-JIR, she worked as cantorial intern for Kehillat Tzur Hadassah, a young, vibrant Reform synagogue just outside of Jerusalem. While studying at the New York campus, Emma enjoyed internships at Congregation Oheb Sholom and Union Temple of Brooklyn, and she also served as a chaplain for Mount Sinai-Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan.
Cantor Emma is extremely passionate about Israel, social justice and women’s issues, as well as meaningful Jewish learning and prayer. She is a lifetime member of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, and was an active t’fillah and program leader for Women of Reform Judaism Northeast. She also led youth group seminars with the L’taken Social Justice Seminar in Washington, D.C. One of the highlights of her time at HUC-JIR was her involvement with the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. She is the recipient of the Rabbi Rick Jacobs Award in Innovative Worship (2015) and the Rhonda and Jerome Malino Prize in Bible Studies (2013).
Emma is married to Rabbi Adam Lutz, a Los Angeles native, whom she met during her Year-In-Israel studies at HUC-JIR.