Meet Elizabeth Schwartz | Vocalist and author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Elizabeth Schwartz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Elizabeth, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I always leaned into the arts. I studied acting and music seriously but after a year of waiting tables, I thought to myself “I’m doing everything I can to use my art” (and I did get an agent and work), “but I’m not doing everything I can to use my brain”. It was a painful decision to leave the arts and pursue a career as a film executive in Hollywood. I got my first job as a secretary, then my second, then my third. That was when my boss told me I was his assistant and as far as he was concerned, his trainee. I got my first lower-level executive promotion and then worked my way up to President of a production company. But it was not the creative work I’d envisioned. I found myself anticipating my time off, when I had the means to enjoy myself. It was an empty experience. And then I met someone who was not only a filmmaker, he was a musician with a band. I had pretty much stopped singing over the years, as it was painful to dabble in something I’d once thrown myself into. Long story short, we went to a party, he heard me sing for the first time and announced I was joining his band. I felt so reluctant, I argued with him until he said, “just try it”. Well, that first time I tried it was at a professional concert at the Museum of Tolerance in LA. Before I knew it, I was recording on the Naxos World label. But the medium aside, it was the immersion into a cultural world that I’d been raised to avoid – my own Jewish heritage. Suddenly, I was learning about my family’s roots in a way I’d not been raised with. My father’s family came from Romania, and on my first visit there, I stood in front of the great synagogue in Iasi – as my foot connected to the cobblestones I felt a jolt. It was a realization that 500 years earlier, my ancestor may have stood in the same spot. It’s something we Americans rarely feel (unless we’re First Americans). We are a nation of immigrants and are mostly uncurious about where we come from. I have never returned from that moment, I feel that the more I travel to the places my people came from, the more I bring them back with me. And considering what a tiny minority Jews are, it feels like a mission to keep this culture not just remembered, but evolving. Culture is life.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Every time I perform in Yiddish or Judeo-Espagnol, I want people to learn more about the culture and people who lived with these languages as their daily tongue. There is so much rich history, so many fascinating details and places, and I want people not just to hear music but to understand its sources. Getting to where I am today – 30 years after my first exposure to the music – has not been easy. I work really hard at bettering my craft. So I guess what sets me apart from others is that I do bring professional factors into what I do. I was blessed with my vocal timbre, but the technique of singing is a lot more than opening your mouth and hoping sound comes out. There is a physical skill and sometimes, people undervalue it. Thank goodness for all that early training. My fascination with a vanishing world has led me to express it in other media; I co-wrote the award-winning audio drama “The Witches of Lublin”. My book of short stories, “The Sweet Fragrance of Life” (Olniansky Books) and the audiobook on Audible.com has won numerous awards. My Jewish recipes have been published in many cookbooks. My concert schedule remains quite vibrant, and I joke that I have now performed in every continent but Antarctica. After the pandemic, Yale and I were hired by Ayelet Tours to lead musical Jewish cultural tours around the world (next one up: Romania in May of 2026), during which we take people to these places we know and love, present concerts with local musicians and us and meet the most wonderful people. There’s no sign of slowing down, which is the greatest part.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We moved to San Diego for work – Yale was offered an artist in residency at San Diego State University. At that time, we couldn’t imagine leaving New York City. But San Diego is really beautiful and today, we know how lucky we are to live here. You can walk along the Pacific Ocean (I like Sunset Cliffs and Coronado) or go to Julian (particularly in the fall for apple season). Barrio Logan has an amazing art scene. As vegans, we’re so lucky that San Diego has such a rich variety of high-level restaurants. There is so much here, I guess I would have to tailor it to my guests’ tastes. We also love heritage village in Old Town, where they have historic old buildings. A stand-out is the old synagogue. As a cantorial soloist for the Jewish High Holidays, there is nothing like singing in there – I felt like I was back in Europe. One other great source of pride here is the jazz scene. Our local station, KSDS, is one of the world’s top-ranked jazz stations and our local artists are world-class.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I always say that if Sisyphus had had a Yale Strom, he might have enjoyed being pushed up the hill sometimes himself. Yale’s energy is infectious. Yale showed me how much of our culture was missing from my ken. It was exotic, mysterious and infinitely beautiful. 9 recordings later, I’m still exploring that part of myself, still expressing it artistically (as a performer and as a writer), and still privileged to walk through life on and off stage with him. And our greatest collaboration has been our daughter. She is on her own extraordinary path, but a large part of what I do has been to see her world expand.

Website: https://www.elizabeth-schwartz.com

Image Credits
Vito DiStefano