Meet the Emcee and Judges

Emcee: Mayta Cohen

Mayta Cohen is a national award winning vocal arranger, songleader, composer, and vocalist from Boston, MA with a deep passion for infusing Jewish music with vocal harmony. Breaking new ground for women in Jewish music, Mayta is the first female arranger for both The Maccabeats and Six13 and founded the national award winning Jewish a cappella group BerKalit, formed at Berklee College of Music. While touring the country with her ensemble, Mayta’s innovative arrangements have garnered her accolades from the likes of ASMAC, Varsity Vocals, The American Conference of Cantors, and Jewish Rock Radio. Her achievements have earned her invitations to songlead at BBYO’s International Convention and become the youngest artist-in-residence at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, MI, the largest Reform synagogue in the country. Mayta serves on staff at A Cappella Academy, renowned for its world-class expertise in a cappella singing, arranging, and performance, and on faculty at the premiere conference of Jewish songleading, Hava Nashira. Her mission is to combine her Jewish faith with her passion for music to create holiness in her community and beyond.

Judge: Daniel Hekin

Daniel Henkin has conducted Jewish and secular choirs for over 35 years, and has produced over 20 albums of Jewish and secular choral music.  As an arranger and conductor, Daniel has helped pioneer today’s contemporary Jewish a cappella movement, and his arrangements are sung across North America and Israel.  Daniel is a graduate of Indiana University’s School of Music and of Columbia University, where he founded the Columbia Clefhangers the only secular, Sabbath-observant collegiate a cappella group of its day. He is Director of Music at the Ramaz Upper School and is Tizmoret’s founding director.  Daniel is a recipient of the 2016 Covenant Award for excellence in Jewish education.

Judge: Natalie Weiss

Natalie Weiss gained an international following from her performance videos and popular series, “Breaking Down The Riffs®”. BROADWAY: Everyday RAPTURE (u/s Menonettes), OFF-BROADWAY: Emojiland (Construction Worker), NATIONAL TOURS: Les Miserables (swing), Wicked (ensemble/u/s Elphaba). REGIONAL: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Carole King), Into The Woods (The Witch), Ghost (Molly) and Chess (Florence). TV: American Idol Season 4. RECORDINGS: The Greatest Showman, Dear Evan Hansen, The Incredibles 2, tracks by Jason Robert Brown, Scott Alan, Jonathan Reid Gealt, Kerrigan & Lowdermilk, Joey Contreras, Kooman & Dimond. EDUCATION: BFA IN musical theatre from Penn State University. She loves coaching and mentoring performers from all over the world.

Judge: Adam Lehman

Adam Lehman is privileged to serve as the President and CEO of Hillel International, the largest Jewish student organization in the world, engaging 200,000 students on 850 college and university campuses in the U.S. and 16 other countries. During Adam’s leadership tenure, Hillel International has focused on supporting the Hillel field through the pandemic and two wars, strengthening collaboration and connection across the Hillel movement, advancing Hillel’s leadership as the innovation lab for the Jewish future, and aggressively addressing the alarming rise in campus antisemitism. After beginning his career in Mergers and Acquisitions at Skadden, Arps, Adam spent two decades as an executive and entrepreneur, developing and growing a variety of new technology, marketing and media ventures, including as a Senior Vice President at AOL. Adam, a Harry S. Truman Scholar, is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School. He has served as a board member of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, Beth Sholom Congregation and Talmud Torah and Fair Chance D.C., and as a volunteer at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School and Camp Ramah of New England. Adam has also been active in the Jewish arts scene, as the author of a series of plays inspired by the Jewish holidays, and as a founding member of the D.C.-based Jewish a cappella group JewKvox.

Judge: Nathaniel Ribner

A lifelong fan of the creative arts, Nathaniel Ribner has made Jewish music the centerpiece of his life. After a decade plus at the piano and theory workbook, Nathaniel began singing and directing in his teens. He has since performed in ensembles of many shapes and sizes and has worked alongside maestros Daniel Henkin, Mike Boxer, and Matthew Lazar. Nathaniel has taught and directed music at multiple schools and camps in the New York area and is frequently brought in as a guest Chazzan. Nathaniel performs at everything from weddings to birthday parties, and has been a guest judge at Kol HaOlam, V’ata Banim Shiru, and Kolot HaYam competitions. He and his wife Miranda live in Riverdale.