From Holy Land to Hollywood, a star is born

Performer Ayana Haviv was only three when her parents relocated from Israel to the United States. But her connection to her native land has, nevertheless, played a leading role in the evolution of her singing career over the last decade as a devotee of opera and many other musical genres.

These days, this married mother of two is a star of stage and screen, as well as a High Holy Day cantorial soloist at Bayit Shelanu, an annual non-denominational service held at UCLA. In December she makes her on-camera television debut as a soloist in the premiere episode of the upcoming second season two of Amazon’s hit program, “Transparent.”

You may not know Haviv’s name, but if you’ve seen any of these recent films, including “Minions,” “Tomorrowland,” “Godzilla,” “Seventh Son,” “The Lorax,” “Avatar,” and “Big Hero 6,” you have heard her sing.

Her voice is also part of the soundtrack for the forthcoming remake of “Goosebumps,” and Josh Groban’s album “Stages,” and Nate Reuss’s “Nothing Without Love.” And her solo work is heard in diverse styles on programs ranging from ABC’s “Agent Carter” and NBC’s “Chicago Fire,” to Netflix/DreamWorks’ “All Hail King Julien,” and even the alien language of SyFy’s “Defiance.”

Haviv discussed her journey from Holy Land to Hollywood and her ongoing connections to Israel and the Jewish community in this intimate conversation with The Times of Israel.

In what role were you cast in the new season of the hit program, “Transparent”?

I play an over-the-top, kitschy Jewish wedding singer – not exactly a stretch for me! – and got to sing everything from “Hava Nagila” to cheesy 80s songs… It was a fantastic experience.

You have sung in so many diverse programs. What’s on your current menu?

‘The way I was raised, [as in] most middle-class Jewish families, I was expected to become a doctor, lawyer’

This season, I’m really looking forward to the West Coast premiere of Julia Wolfe’s coal-miner-inspired piece “Anthracite Fields,” which just won the Pulitzer, with the LA Master Chorale, and “Pagliacci” with Placido Domingo in yet another new baritone role at LA Opera. And Street Symphony is planning to perform Handel’s “Messiah” at the Midnight Mission on Skid Row in December, and I can’t wait to be part of that.

How and when did your singing career begin?

I always sang for fun, but always considered it to be a hobby and never something I could actually do professionally. The way I was raised, [as in] most middle-class Jewish families, I was expected to become a doctor, lawyer, or some other professional, and I didn’t question this assumption. So I sang in choirs, was in a rock band, jammed with my friends, and took voice lessons on and off. I wanted to become a university professor, and I started a PhD in cultural anthropology at UCLA (while still writing songs and performing with my rock band at the time, Nest).

How did you transition from the academy to the industry?

One day, I went for lunch with one of my friends who, like me, was an excellent amateur musician, Tali Tadmor [who] said, “I’ve heard of these people called session singers. They sing for movies and they need to be really versatile with the styles they can sing. That sounds like you!”

That sounded intriguing – it really did sound like me. I was always good at singing lots of different styles, but I felt like I needed to hide it – in the classical singing world, people assume that if you also sing pop, you’re not a serious classical singer or have bad technique. In the pop singing world it’s similar – people assume that if you also sing classical, you’re not “rock and roll” enough. So I was used to hiding my other talents on both sides of the spectrum. But here was a possibility to use it all!

After that conversation, I decided to take a leave of absence from my graduate program for one year and study voice and music seriously for the first time.

You are largely self-taught. What training was pivotal in your journey?

My classical voice teacher, Renee Sousa, is responsible for transforming my voice from a good amateur to a professional.

What were some of the challenges you encountered?

One of my biggest hurdles was learning to sight read better. I got a sight-reading practice book and went through the whole thing – whistling rather than singing, since I was doing it for so many hours per day. When I was finally done, I auditioned for the Los Angeles Master Chorale, one of the best professional choruses in the country. I made it in – as a volunteer singer, but still it was a huge step forward.

What was your first professional appearance?

A friend of Tali’s was another Israeli musician, composer Sharon Farber, and she had a side gig as the music director of Temple Shalom for the Arts, which hired a professional octet every year to sing during the High Holidays. She talked the rabbi into giving me a chance, and that was my very first professional gig – the only Jew with seven veteran professional LA session singers, some of whom happened to be among the best in town. The friends I made on that gig introduced me to the entire world of session singing, which I had not known existed until that first conversation with Tali.

I have never looked back… this world is where I belong.

What are a few more of your career highlights?

Days ago, I got a phone call from a producer with whom I work quite a lot, Lee Holdridge, to see if I was available to sing some guide vocals for an upcoming album. This means that I read the music and sing the song for a celebrity singer to listen to and learn, since often the celebrity can’t read music as well. I showed up to Capitol Records, always a wonderful place to record, and learned that the album was Placido Domingo’s forthcoming Christmas album. I sang one guide vocal for a celebrity, and the next song was a new arrangement of a Bach Christmas aria for Placido. The producer had added a beautiful vocalise for a soprano to sing over Placido’s melody. I asked, “Who will be the real singer?” and he answered, “Oh no, this one is going to stay on the album.” So just like that – assuming the song makes it on the album, which is never a sure thing – I sang a duet with one of my all-time musical heroes, Placido Domingo!

Two weeks ago, I got to contract the singers for a very big video game (unfortunately, I am not able to reveal the title yet!). This means that I hired the singers for the recording session, and much like a concertmaster does for an orchestra, I was responsible for passing on the composer-conductor’s concept and inspiration to the singers and ensuring that we implemented them. At the same time, I needed to sing myself, blending with the rest of the choir when appropriate and also taking a solo when the composer asked. It was absolutely thrilling to lead the singers in this way, and I think we made some beautiful music for the game.

What do you love about this work?

I love any project in which I feel I contribute something of myself. When I feel like I’ve successfully done that, whatever the genre and whatever the project, it’s incredibly fulfilling.

A couple months ago I sang solos on a short film called “Debris” for composer Nicholas Repetto. The session was unusual in that the director, Mary-Lyn Chambers, was there and giving direction as well as Nick. I also got to watch the scenes I was about to interpret and enhance with my singing. As a result, I really felt that I had so much to draw from for my interpretation, and we had a true collaboration. The music that ended up in the film was something I can be very proud of.

As the married mom of two young kids, do you tour much?

The only time I’ve ever been on tour was also one of the best moments of my musical life. Two years ago, with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, LA Philharmonic, and Gustavo Dudamel conducting, I got to premiere John Adams’ “The Gospel According to the Other Mary” as staged by Peter Sellars in Los Angeles, London, Paris, Lucerne, and New York. It was incredibly thrilling to bring this masterpiece to life with some of the best artists on the planet, not to mention take it all over the world.

What are your favorite pieces to perform?

I will never get tired of singing in the Verdi “Requiem” or the Rachmaninoff “Vespers.”

What feeds you as an artist?

‘I live for those goosebump-inducing moments when I am one of 100 voices thundering a fortissimo’

I live for those goosebump-inducing moments when I am one of 100 voices thundering a fortissimo in the Verdi “Requiem” or whispering a pianissimo so quiet that the audience leans in and time feels like it’s suspended.

Do you have an objective as a performer?

My goal, in every artistic endeavor, is to transform the listener. If I am able to focus completely on the music and the process of creating it, I always hope to create that same zone of focus for my audience, and to transform them in some way – emotionally, psychically, even if it’s only for the duration of the concert – but hopefully long after that.

I understand your children attended a local Jewish pre-school and now participate in a supplementary Hebrew school. In what other ways are you involved Jewishly?

Like many Israelis who live in the US, I’ve found that I need a synagogue community to give my children the cultural part of being Jewish that Israelis take for granted in Israel.

What was your relationship to Israel in your childhood?

I flew back to Israel with my family almost every summer, staying with my grandparents in Bat Yam and Jerusalem, and with good family friends in Karmiel. Israel always felt like home to me. My family moved around the US a lot, but Israel was my constant.

I had no extended family around me in the States. But in Israel I had a huge clan of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, some of whom are still my best friends. I felt a real community there and still do.

Music helped with that, of course. My mother spent hours teaching me the Israeli folk songs she grew up with, and the community she created of Israeli immigrants in the US cities we lived in would regularly get together to sing them, making up harmony parts, and accompanied by guitar or piano. In Israel, those “song evenings” were a regular occurrence as well, and knowing that music connected me to my friends and family there.