Cantor Vicky Glikin

Cantor Vicky Glikin is the Senior Cantor of Temple Emanu-El, Dallas, Texas. She joined Temple Emanu-El in July of 2016. Cantor Glikin was born in Ukraine and lived in Kiev until moving to Skokie, Illinois at age 13.

After graduating Cum Laude from Northwestern University, Cantor Glikin worked for three years as an equity analyst. She sought a career change after realizing that service to the Jewish people was the best way for her to make a difference in the world. She became the cantorial soloist at North Shore Congregation Israel in nearby Glencoe, where she led services and founded a youth theater troupe called Ruach.

Cantor Glikin received her M.A. in Sacred Music (2011) and Ordination (2012) from the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). While pursuing her cantorial training, Cantor Glikin was honored to be chosen for the highly-selective Wexner Graduate Fellowship and received numerous academic and musical awards. While in seminary, she received chaplaincy training as part of the Clinical Pastoral Education department at Overlook Hospital in Summit, New Jersey.

Cantor Glikin has been trained by Storatelling, the nonprofit organization that brings theatrical techniques to Torah education and training, and is a contributing writer to URJ’s 10 Minutes of Torah.

After her ordination, Cantor Glikin joined Congregation Solel in Highland Park, Illinois, where she spearheaded numerous initiatives focused on deepening congregational involvement through learning, worship, spiritual engagement, musical participation and social action. She was one of the consistent clergy voices in the successful campaign to bring a Level I Trauma Center to Chicago’s violence-ridden South Side. A fluent Russian speaker, Cantor Glikin was involved in outreach and engagement work with the Russian-speaking Jewish community. In recognition of her contributions to the broader Jewish community, Cantor Glikin was named as one of Chicago’s “36 Under 36” in 2014.

Cantor Glikin has served as the President of the Reform Cantors of Chicago and as a mentor for younger colleagues through the American Conference of Cantors (ACC). She is an alumna of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality’s Clergy Leaderhip Program. Cantor Glikin is married to her high-school sweetheart, Vlad Leybovich, and they are the proud and happy parents of Adam, Michelle and Sam. They love spending time together doing just about anything, especially if it involves food and Harry Potter.

Contact Cantor Glikin’s assistant, Martha Bowden, at mbowden@tedallas.org.