Nathan Lam was just a child when he discovered his life’s calling: to be a cantor.
“I was 8 years old, sitting in junior congregation with my mother,” he said. “My cantor, Allan Michelson, walked in. He was spectacular, and one of the best in the country. He asked everyone who wanted to be a cantor. My mother nudged me in the ribs, and set me up for life.”
Lam said he was inspired to sing by Michelson, the cantor of his childhood synagogue Adat Ari El (then Valley Jewish Community Center) in Valley Village.
“When he sang, it reminded me of all the stories my grandparents told me about their lives in the old country,” he said. “I was a child protégé of his.”
Now Lam and his wife, Donna, are being honored Nov. 13 for being inspirations to others during their service at Stephen Wise Temple, where Lam has been cantor for 40 years. A musical celebration at the Orpheum Theatre will feature performances by the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony, Diane White-Clayton (“Dr. Dee”) and Sacred Praise Chorale of Faithful Central Bible Church, and music from composers such as Jerry Goldsmith and Artie Butler. A composition will be debuted that evening as well.
Funds from the event will support the Donna and Cantor Nathan Lam Music and Media Production Center, an institution that creates music and videos that “teach Jewish values, increase knowledge and entertain,” Lam said.
Lam said he put together a diverse lineup for the event because, “One of the things we talk about at the center is doing outreach to make the world a better place. We are going to do it through music.”
The center, which opened two months ago and is located at Stephen Wise, is going to produce projects such as an animated video about the bedtime Shema, and an album Lam made with Stephen Wise’s music director/director of music innovation, David Kates. Donna became involved because she is a former schoolteacher and passionate about education.
“My wife and I are very excited about this project,” Lam said. “We want to make sure children will be inspired like I was when I was 8 years old.”
Growing up, Lam said, he would sing at his temple throughout the High Holy Days. When he turned 18, he got his first job as a high holidays chazzan at Congregation Mogen David, an Orthodox synagogue in Pico-Robertson.
“I’ve been an Orthodox, Reform and Conservative cantor, but not a Presbyterian or Unitarian cantor,” he joked.
Lam studied at Cal State Northridge, as well as Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and the University of Judaism (now American Jewish University). He went back to Adat Ari El and became the associate cantor at age 21, where he stayed for five years. Then, he and his wife decided to move to New York, where he became the cantor at Midway Jewish Center in Syosset.
Donna, also a Los Angeles native, was feeling homesick, and three years later they moved back to L.A. with their newborn son, Michael. Lam heard of a cantorial job at Stephen Wise, which was only 12 years old at that time and had started with 35 families.
“So I met with [founding Rabbi Isaiah] Zeldin, and I fell in love with him,” he said. “His vision and energy were something to behold.”
Now, the temple is one of the largest in the nation, with more than 3,000 families. As it grew, so did Lam’s family as he added a daughter, Jenna. He also has five grandchildren who all attend Stephen Wise and go to school there — which only adds to what makes his work so special.
“Every day, I drive up this mountain and think how lucky I am to be here, and how lucky I am to have the people around me like colleagues and laypeople to support everything we do,” he said. “I loved walking out of my office and seeing my children, or now my grandchildren, run up to me at carpool to say hello.”
Since Lam does vocal cord rehabilitation — he’s self-taught in the practice after having plenty of experience giving voice lessons — he’s also had the opportunity to work with pop stars like Ringo Starr, Lionel Richie and Kenny Rogers over the years.
“They would come up to the temple and have a lesson on a daily basis,” he said. “It was important to me that they come into a Jewish clergyman’s office. No matter what religion or race they were, they all got a fair shake with me.”
Lam also has acted on the TV shows “Transparent” and “Castle,” and has come out with 11 records of his own. He produced a musical documentary, “100 Voices: A Journey Home,” about the history of Jews in Poland.
Lam is the founding dean of the Cantorial School of the Academy for Jewish Religion, California, and has commissioned more than 500 pieces of Jewish music.
With all of his work, Lam said, he hopes to reach the Jewish people on a large scale and energize them to discover their culture and heritage.
“Before we do anything [at Stephen Wise], we think if it’s good for the Jewish people, then it’s good for the world, and for our temple.”
