Svetlana Kundish (UA/IL/D; voice)

Sveta Kundish was born in the Ukraine in 1982, and began studying music at the age of seven. After settling with her family in Israel in 1995, she continued her music studies in the Ironi (Municipal) Arts High School in Tel Aviv, concentrating on voice and piano.

After her graduation Kundish began intensive voice studies with Ella Akritova, an important singer and former professor in the Kiev Conservatory. In 2001, she started studying Yiddish song in the master class of the legendary Soviet-era Yiddish singer Nechama Lifshitz. From 1998 till 2005 Sveta also performed as an actress at the Mosaic Theater, led by the directors Igor and Ludmila Mushkatin.

In 2007, Kundish received a B.A. in Musicology from Tel Aviv University.

That same year she was invited by Prof. Yuri Kokozey to study voice at the Prayner Konservatorium in Vienna, from which she graduated in 2011. While studying in Vienna, in 2008, she won 1st Prize at the international vocal competition The Golden Chanukkia in Berlin.

In 2012 Kundish began studies at the Cantorial Department of the Abraham Geiger Kolleg in Berlin, graduating in 2017. Since March 2017 she has been employed as a cantor in the Jewish Community of Braunschweig, making her the first female cantor in the history of the Jewish Communities of Lower Saxony.

As a soloist, Sveta Kundish performs a wide variety of Jewish music throughout Europe. She performs regularly with Patrick Farrell, Alan Bern, Voices of Ashkenaz, the Trickster Orchestra and Regalim Kapelye among other renowned ensembles.

Kundish is a frequent Artist-in-Residence and teacher at Yiddish Summer Weimar Festival, and has performed and taught at many festivals around Europe as well, such as Shtetl Neukölln, Klezmore Vienna, Klezmer Welten, LvivKlezFest, Yiddish Seminar of the Sveriges Jiddischforbund in Lidingö, Bonner Klezmer Tagen, Yiddish Berlin, and others.

In April 2018 she performed at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg as part of Frank London’s Ghetto Songs project.
In 2018 Sveta Kundish performed onscreen the role of the singer Rushka, in the upcoming Hollywood film production “Harry Haft”, by Oscar-winning director Barry Levinson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fE-uND5ouQ8

www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5mBva0VTlw

Photo: Maria Rodigina