Elana Arian, M.S. Ed

A composer, prayer leader, and multi-instrumentalist, Elana Arian is one of the most influential voices in contemporary Jewish music. A nationally touring artist and scholar serving 30-40 distinct communities each year, Elana’s music is an important part of Jewish life across the globe. She has released five albums of original music to date: If We Loved Like That (2025), The Other Side of Fear (2021), A Spark of Light (2017), How to Stand in the Rain (2007), and Foreword (2004). Elana is the subject of a dedicated composer’s anthology published by Transcontinental Music Publications, and her compositions are featured in many other TMP volumes, including their popular Shabbat Anthology, Ruach, and Shireinu series. Elana holds a Bachelor’s degree from Yale University and Master of Science in Teaching from Bank Street College of Education.

A beloved teacher, Elana serves proudly on the faculty of Hava Nashira (Oconomowoc, WI), the Wexner Heritage Foundation (Aspen, CO), Shirei Chagiga (London, England), and Hebrew Union College in New York, where she teaches Improvisation and Integration, Contemporary Repertoire, and Worship Lab in the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music. Elana has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Tanglewood, and perhaps most memorably, five separate appearances at the (Obama) White House.

Raised on equal parts Mozart, Mingus, and Mitchell, has appeared on NPR’s Soundcheck, as well as on PBS’ Finding Your Roots. A sought-after studio musician, Elana maintains a busy recording schedule, working with such varied artists as Peter Yarrow, the Dirty Projectors, and Catie Curtis. She held the guitar chair on both the smash revival of Sweet Charity starring Tony award-winner, Sutton Foster, and Kristin Chenoweth’s acclaimed For the Girls, and has worked on multiple instruments in the pit orchestras of Broadway shows. She lives in the Hudson Valley with her wife, Cantor Julia Cadrain, and their two daughters.