JANET PELLETIER GOETZE

Janet Pelletier-Goetze is a Cantorial Soloist and Choir Director at Temple Shalom, where she shares her deep passion for Jewish music. A talented multi-instrumentalist and composer/arranger, Janet’s liturgical compositions for Shabbat services take a fresh, contemporary approach to our traditional  Jewish prayers.

 Janet is also a full-time teacher in the Pembina Trails School Division, teaching English, Drama, and Social Studies. She previously taught music theatre at the University of Toronto, Sheridan College, and Etobicoke School of the Arts in Toronto. With a rich background in music, education, composition, and Jewish traditions, she brings a unique perspective to her exploration of Jewish women composers.

SHERRY WOLFE ELAZAR

Sherry Wolfe Elazar was born in Winnipeg and lived in Israel for 8 years in the 1980s.

Sherry has taught for over 40 years in Israel and Winnipeg, primarily as a Judaic Studies teacher in both the Hebrew Bilingual Program in public school and for 26 years at Gray Academy of Jewish Education. She is the Jewish Learning Coordinator at Temple Shalom, a Learning Support Teacher at Brock Corydon School and a Faculty Supervisor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Winnipeg. 

Her passion is to strive to reimagine ways that Judaism can be relevant in the lives of our community and how our community institutions can thrive in the future. 

Sherry’s teaching has always been grounded and enhanced by Jewish music, using traditional and modern liturgy, Israeli music and American folk songs from the '60s and '70s to deliver messages of hope and meaning to her students.