Named Shira, the Hebrew word for song, Shira Lissek has sung to the delight of audiences since she was 4 years old. At 16 she sang the national anthem at a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game and by 18 was leading Jewish High Holiday services for thousands. A graduate of Indiana University School of Music and Manhattan School of Music, Ms. Lissek went on to sing leading roles in regional opera companies including Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni (Seattle Opera), Mimi in La Boheme and Nedda in Pagliacci (The Philadelphia Kimmel Center) and The Countess Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro (Bronx Opera). She sang premieres of operas by Carlisle Floyd (The Center For Contemporary Opera), Peter Westergard (Center City Opera Theater), and Antonio Vivaldi (Teatro Instabile). In the musical theatre world, Ms. Lissek performed 656 shows of the American Girl Revue in New York. She was featured in pops concerts singing An Evening with Irving Berlin, A Musical Tribute to Barbra Streisand, Andrew Lloyd Webber Unmasked and Broadway Blockbusters with the Gulf Coast Symphony. With The Klezmer Company Orchestra she sang traditional Jewish repertoire with a twist in Salsa Strings and Swing and Beyond the Tribe. She has sung at venues in New York including Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, The Laurie Beechman Theater, The Triad, The Duplex, The Iridium Jazz Club, and Riverside Church. She served as the Cantor of Congregation Mount Sinai in Brooklyn Heights, NY from 2007-2014. She is now the Assistant Cantor at the famed Park Avenue Synagogue, New York City. “Eliyahu Hanavi” was written in honor of Elijah the Prophet (ca. 870 B.C.E. - ), one of the greatest prophets of Jewish history and legend. This traditional song, usually sung in the second half of the Passover meal, is here arranged with a feeling of the blues in 12/8 time. Vocalist: Shira Lissek. “Lahadam” (“In The Land of Lahadam”) was created by Naomi Shemer (July 13, 1930-June 26, 2004), a leading Israeli musician and songwriter, hailed as the “first lady of Israeli song and poetry.” “Lahadam” is a Hebrew acronym for “Lo Hayu Dvarim Me’Olam” meaning “It is a downright lie, an impossible tale.” It refers to the disparity between the idealized vision and the reality of Israel as the land of milk and honey. Vocalist: Shira Lissek. “Erev Shel Shoshanim” (“Evening of Lilies” or “Evening of Roses”) is a poetic Hebrew love song often used as music at Jewish weddings as a replacement for “Here Comes the Bride.” It is well known in Israeli and Jewish music circles, and throughout the Middle East. The music is by Yosef Hadar, the lyrics by Moshe Dor. Vocalist: Shira Lissek. The melody for “Halicha L’kesariya” (“Journey to Caesaria”) was written by David Zehavi. It is the lyrics by Channah Senesh (1921-1944), however, that makes this melody beloved. Ms. Senesh was a member of Kibbutz Sedot Yam in Caesarea on the Mediterranean Sea. In 1943, at the height of World War II, she volunteered to go into Nazi-controlled areas to save Jewish lives. In 1944 she parachuted into Yugoslavia. After staying with the partisans, she went to Hungary where she was discovered and executed by the Germans. Vocalist: Shira Lissek. This track again features the prodigious talent of vocalist Shira Lissek singing “Go Like the Wind” based on a Latin-tinged composition by Eugene Marlow and lyrics by Ellen Woloshin. The musicians feature Grammy-winning virtuoso pianist Arturo O’Farrill, with Bobby Porcelli on alto saxophone. “Go Like the Wind” inspires the listener to let go of the past, get past fears, and move forward in one’s life. “For The Children” is based on a Latin-tinged composition by Eugene Marlow and lyrics by Janet Lawson. Marlow’s Heritage Ensemble is featured. “For the Children” inspires adults and parents to support children in their quest to be true to themselves.