Calendar Voices of Hope Concert About Us HomePage Our Links
|
Estherleon's Bio
In
1948 a little girl 7 years old came to America with her mother
and father on the Queen Mary with hundreds of other refugees.
Nearing the shores of New York, she saw a tiny statue in the
water. Everyone on the boat became very quiet and started
softly singing prayers of gratitude, kneeling down to kiss
the ground. The little girl couldn’t stop looking at the beautiful
statue. As they got closer and closer, it seemed as if this
beautiful woman with a wand so tall and strong was smiling
at her and was saying something good to her. It reminded her
of when her father threw her over the barbwire fence in 1944
at the Swiss border, looking up to the heavens he said, “Save
my daughter and she will always serve you”. This little girl
always knew in her heart her destiny had been chosen.
Believing fervently that we are all connected, visionary Cantor
Estherleon, for many years, has been bringing all faiths and
cultures together for a deeper understanding of each other.
Poverty has a particularly strong meaning to Estherleon.
A child Holocaust survivor, she has endured the poverty of
food, shelter, safety and thoughts when she was on the run
form the Nazi's for the first 4 years of her life finally
escaping in 1944 to Switzerland. Sheltered by nuns in convents
through parts of this period, she didn't realize until now
that the DNA of the church music would ultimately play a big
role in the Jewish music she sings as a cantor. Her gifted
and compassionate voice has been chronicled in numerous testimonials.
|

|
Life's challenges saw her rise from welfare to riches,
which she gave up, after a family tragedy. She became a Cantor,
a female in a male's world. She survived that, then decided "Against
all odds" (CCN News) to take her administering to the people, founding
3 storefront spiritual reading rooms for all people, religions and
cultures, in the process creating Beth Shirah (House of Song). She
has always seen challenges as a gift to the higher spirit echoing
the survival of her earliest years. She is now welcomed by the Buddhist
at the Hsi Lai Temple, the Baha'i Faith the Braille Institute and
healing centers. She tirelessly administers to the sick through
her voice, as a volunteer Para-Chaplain at a renowned hospital in
Los Angeles. Voices of Hope is her dedication to the immense insurmountable
challenges to see the end of poverty in her lifetime. Her music,
and poetry will bring people into the fold of caring, through nurturing
and compassion. Her determination is unshakable.
"The children are our future, what better way to receive
than to give them life through our deepest caring. Their poverty
is our poverty, and our shame. We have to listen to their voices
of hope"
Visit www.estherleon.com for info and events
|