Cantor Bryce Megdal was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona. She attended Tucson Hebrew Academy—a Jewish day school—from first through eighth grade, where she developed a lifelong love for Judaism and the Hebrew language. She began her singing journey in fourth grade, when she joined the Tucson Jewish Youth Choir in its first year. She also joined the Teen Choir at Temple Emanu-El, now called Kol Ami Synagogue.
Shortly after becoming Bat Mitzvah, Cantor Megdal started tutoring B’nai Mitzvah candidates, which she did through high school and college. Other leadership roles she assumed included teaching in the religious school, singing in the Temple band, singing in the Adult Choir, and serving as a Cantorial Soloist.
Cantor Megdal received a Bachelor of Arts in Judaic Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art at the University of Arizona. In May 2015, she received a Master’s Degree in Jewish Studies with an emphasis in Music in Jewish Life from the Academy for Jewish Religion California (AJRCA). In August 2015, she transferred to AJRCA’s Cantorial Program.
While in Cantorial School, Cantor Megdal was one of two B’nai Mitzvah teachers at Kehillat Israel (KI) Reconstructionist Synagogue of the Pacific Palisades. She was also a Cantorial Soloist at Hollywood Temple Beth El and a High Holy Days Cantorial Soloist at Temple Beth Torah in Ventura, CA. In her last two years of Cantorial School, Cantor Megdal interned at Temple Akiba in Culver City and Valley Beth Shalom (VBS) in Encino.
In May 2019, Cantor Megdal was ordained as a Cantor, and in October 2019, she served as the High Holy Days Cantor at Congregation Neveh Shalom in Portland, OR. In June 2020, she and her husband, Marc, moved from Los Angeles to Orlando, FL to begin serving her first pulpit, Congregation of Reform Judaism. She started her current position as Cantor of Congregation Shir Shalom in Ridgefield, CT on July 1, 2024.
One of Cantor Megdal’s passions is writing and composing Jewish music. Creating and sculpting her own modern interpretations of Judaism’s ancient text and core Jewish concepts nourishes her soul. What nourishes her soul even more is knowing that her pieces do the same for others. She released her first album of original Jewish music, Shine Forth, in May 2016. Several of her more recent compositions have been recognized and published in the Jewish music world. She hopes to release her next album by the end of the secular year.
