Cantor Joyce Ury Dumtschin has served Temple Beth Or since 1988. After ten years as Music Director, she received her cantorial certification and investiture from the School of Sacred Music at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion. Additionally, she completed the Pastoral Counseling Training Program at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton. Cantor Dumtschin is a member of the American Conference of Cantors, the Cantors Assembly, and the Women Cantors Network. 

Under Cantor Dumtschin’s direction, the music program at Temple Beth Or now includes a volunteer adult choir, a youth choir for children in grades 3 and above, and “Groyser Tummel,” Temple Beth Or’s congregational band. Cantor Dumtschin tutors Bar and Bat Mitzvah students, teaches the 6th grade Hebrew class, leads music in the religious school, teaches adult Hebrew and the adult B’nai Mitzvah class, and has directed various entertainment events. 

In addition to her congregational activities, Cantor Dumtschin participates regularly in community civic and religious events, interfaith services, and has spoken at various schools and universities. She has participated in Habitat for Humanity Interfaith Builds and worked with public school music teachers on programming appropriate, inclusive music. As a Girl Scout leader and member of the Dayton Jewish Committee on Scouting, she has been a guiding force in the establishment of the annual Miami Valley Scout Shabbat and enabled numerous Girl Scouts to earn their Jewish religious awards. She is featured on the recording “Sh’ma T’filati: Jewish Music and Readings for Healing,” which has been used in synagogues, hospitals, and nursing homes across the country.

A native of Wilmette, Illinois, Cantor Dumtschin earned a B.S. in Elementary Education from Northwestern University and a M.A. in Early Childhood Education from Marshall University. She presented music workshops at several regional conferences of early childhood educators. Her writing has been published in Young Children, the journal of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and her photography has been featured in several NAEYC publications. Cantor Dumtschin and her husband Irwin live in Centerville and are the proud parents of Nathan and Rachel.