For many at Temple Shalom, the name Mandy Monreal is synonymous with music that moves the soul. Whether she’s leading the choir, guiding a youth rehearsal, or performing a new original composition, Mandy’s warmth and passion shine through every note. Yet few know the remarkable journey that led her here-a journey that intertwines art, faith, and purpose in ways both unexpected and deeply inspiring. Temple member Diane Laner sat down with Mandy (on Zoom, of course) to find out more.
Diane Laner: Mandy, thank you so much for taking the time to share your story with us. I’d love for our members to get to know you better, and learn about what brought you to Temple Shalom some ten years ago. Can you describe where and how your musical journey truly began?
Mandy Monreal: I grew up in Yardley, Pennsylvania, a quiet suburb outside of Philadelphia. My musical life really started at age six with piano lessons, but everything shifted during my bat mitzvah. People were so kind and encouraging about my voice, and I realized I loved singing in a way I couldn’t explain. My parents put me into voice lessons with an opera singer-she was talented, brilliant, and nurturing-and from age thirteen to eighteen, I was on track. Lots of lessons and performances. Looking back, I think my brother and I absorbed our parents’ unrealized dreams. If their lives had been different, my dad would have pursued music and my mom would have pursued dance. My brother studied dance at NYU, and I pursued music. It feels like we carried their passions forward.
DL: You studied at one of the most prestigious voice schools in the country. What was that experience like?
MM: I went to Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey-a very small, very intense school focused on sacred music (vocal, piano, and organ performance, composition, music education, etc.). I sang all day, studied theory, and lived and breathed music. I started as a vocal performance major because at that time I thought I wanted to be an opera singer. Many times I would be asked if I wanted to become a Cantor, and I would always say, “no no no.” I absolutely wanted to become an opera singer! College was when I discovered how much I loved writing music. By the end of sophomore year, I switched to Music Theory and Composition with a focus on voice. That change opened everything up for me. I’m still close with my composition professor, who became one of my greatest mentors. I met my husband, Ricardo, there too. He was in graduate school, getting his master’s in choral conducting. At twenty-three, I thought, “I’m going to write music and make lots of money!” Life had other plans, but college was the foundation of everything that came later.
DL: After college, you moved to New Mexico. What did that chapter look like?
MM: We moved to Hobbs, New Mexico for Ricardo’s first teaching job. There weren’t many opportunities for composers there, so I helped at Ricardo’s choir program, accompanied students, and had a handful of commissions. Fun fact: I also worked at a car dealership! But I was searching-for music, for connection, and honestly for myself. Eventually I told Ricardo that it just wasn’t working, that I needed to return to what I trained for, and we started looking at opportunities in larger cities. Before we left New Mexico, I went on a Birthright trip with my brother, and that experience reawakened something in me. I felt this strong pull to reconnect with Judaism.
DL: How did reconnecting with Judaism lead you to Temple Shalom?
MM: Ricardo was offered a position as the head choir director at Irving High School, so when we moved to Texas, I looked up all the local clergy and reached out, hoping to find a musical home within Jewish life. Only one person responded – Cantor Devorah Avery. She invited me to meet her. I still remember walking into the Temple Shalom sanctuary for the first time-it literally took my breath away. She asked if I wanted to sing for her, and so I sang Mi Shebeirach with all my heart. I guess she was impressed, because she immediately invited me to join the High Holy Day choir in 2016. They had already started rehearsals, but I jumped right in. That moment changed the entire course of my life. I found a community that embraced me, and I found music that felt like home.
DL: You’re known now not just as a singer but as a composer. When did you start writing Jewish music?
MM: It started with Cantor Avery asking if I had ever written Jewish music. I hadn’t. So why not try? My first piece was Shalom Aleichem, and once I wrote that, I couldn’t stop. Something opened inside me. Much later, Temple Shalom created a part-time position for me after Cantor Avery left, and it felt like everything aligned. I began building the adult and youth choirs, launching Artist-in-Residence weekends, and bringing in musicians like Joe Buchanan. Rabbi Paley has been incredibly supportive. Ninety-nine percent of the time he says, “That sounds great. Make it so.” That kind of trust changes what you believe is possible.
DL: So you sing, teach, and compose on the piano. But I’ve also heard you play the guitar. When did you start playing?
MM: This one surprises people! I never wanted to play guitar until I started my position at Temple Shalom. I suddenly felt myself reaching for an instrument I didn’t own. One day I woke up and told Ricardo, “I’m going to buy a guitar today.” I brought it home and couldn’t put it down. I taught myself and began writing songs on it. I guess the next item on my list is to take a few guitar lessons. I want people to know you don’t have to be a professional. If something inside you wants to try an instrument, go for it! You never know what door it opens.
DL: Tell us about creating your first album, Lift Your Heart.
MM: During the pandemic, teaching became overwhelming. We were teaching in person and online simultaneously, everyone masked, exhausted. It wasn’t sustainable. Around that time, the opportunity arose to step fully into my role at Temple Shalom, and everything clicked. I began writing music constantly. There’s this pull I feel-sometimes I’m sitting on the sofa and something tells me to go to the piano. The songs on Lift Your Heart came from that space. It’s eight original Jewish pieces, written during a time when I deeply needed spiritual grounding. Recording it was a dream. I’ve released a single since then and have another one on the way!
DL: Your collaborations with your mother are beloved. How did that work begin?
MM: My mom, Arlene Geller, is an incredible poet and lyricist. We’ve collaborated for years. She writes the words; I write the music. It’s one of the most meaningful parts of our relationship. For Temple Shalom’s 60th anniversary, we created a four-movement work called Standing at the Threshold, aligning with each of Rabbi Paley’s sermons on the theme “Through a New Door: Welcoming What Comes Next.” It is the largest composition I’ve ever written. The process was emotional, challenging, and sacred. I am so proud of what we created together.
DL: This is what I think is really exciting! You’ve recently begun a major new chapter: cantorial school. What led to that decision?
MM: There was one question that changed everything. Last fall, during a conversation with my dear friend Cantor Hallie (Weiner), she asked me, “Have you ever thought about becoming a cantor?” I immediately burst into tears. It was like something unlocked. I realized that all the pieces of my life-music, Judaism, teaching, supporting people-were pointing me here. Becoming a cantor would allow me to combine my love for music, spirituality, and pastoral care. I applied to the Academy for Jewish Religion in Los Angeles, auditioned, interviewed, passed the psychological evaluation, and started classes this August. The program is at least five years, maybe longer, and I’m excited for every minute of it.
DL: What does your life look like now as you balance Cantorial school, Temple Shalom, teaching, and family?
MM: It’s a full, beautiful symphony of commitments. Mondays are heavy school days with Shacharit, Lunch & Learn, and classes. Tuesdays and Wednesdays I have work at Temple Shalom, rehearsals and other coursework. Thursdays I teach private lessons at a middle school. Fridays are Temple Shalom days. Sundays are religious school and youth choir. And somewhere in there I study Hebrew, study nusach, and write music. It’s a lot, but it’s joyful work. The part of cantorial school I’m most excited about isn’t the music-it’s the pastoral training. I can’t wait to learn how to support people during the most sacred moments of their lives.
DL: Thank you, Mandy! I can’t believe it’s taken me ten years to get to know you. I can’t wait to hear more about your road to becoming a Cantor. You will be amazing! I always smile when I read the parting phrase of your emails and letters…..sending love and light. You certainly do!
