soprano, was born in the Ukraine in 1982. She began studying music at the age of seven. In 1995, she emigrated with her family to Israel. She continued her music studies in the Ironi (Municipal) Arts High School in Tel Aviv, concentrating on voice and piano. After graduation she began intensive voice studies with Ella Akritova, an important singer who was also a professor in the Kiev Conservatory for many years before moving to Israel. In 2001, Sveta began to study Yiddish music in the master class of Nehama Lifshitz. From 2003-7, she studied musicology at Tel Aviv University and received her B.A. degree.

Sveta was a member of The Group for New Music in Israel, devoted to music from Terezín and pre-war works by composers who were active in the ghettos. In 2007, she decided to continue her vocal studies at a professional institution abroad. She was invited by Prof. Yuri Kokozey to attend at the Prayner Konservatorium in Vienna, from which she graduated in 2011.

In December 2008, Sveta won 1st prize in the international vocal competition “The Golden Hanukkia” in Berlin.
In 2012, she began studies in the Cantorial Department of the Abraham Geiger Kolleg in Berlin.

Sveta Kundish performs throughout Europe in solo programs dedicated to the variety of Jewish Music. She is a soloist in “The Voice of Ashkenaz," “Kol Isha," “Wien-Erfurt Klezmerbrücke” and in other projects and bands. She is a regular artist-in-residence and faculty member at Yiddish Summer Weimar.

Photo: Max Moser