Jacqueline Rafii is the Senior Cantor and Music Director of Valley Beth Shalom (VBS), where she oversees music and prayer for the Synagogue, Day School, Religious School, and Early Childhood Center. She is best known for her creative, multi-generational musical initiatives that invigorate and build community. In her two years at VBS, she has produced an annual concert series, the most recent concert of which brought together 15 cantors from around Los Angeles and filled the Sanctuary with 800 attendees; she founded and directs VBS’ beloved Youth Choir, which has become a staple of synagogue programs and services; she has co-created the successful Shiru Shabbat series; and she has planned and produced innovative cultural and musical programs, such as a recent Nowruz (Persian New Year) celebration, all of which have helped place VBS as one of the centers of Los Angeles Jewish cultural life.

Prior to joining VBS, Cantor Rafii served for five years as the Cantor of Shomrei Torah Synagogue. Highlights include the Songstruck Concerts; the Shabbat Around the World series; Zamru Shabbat; Simcha Shabbat; and founding and directing the synagogue’s first-ever Youth and Teen Choirs. In 2019 and 2020, Cantor Rafii was honored by LA Mayor Garcetti’s office for her impactful work in the community.

Cantor Rafii was ordained as a Hazzan and earned her Master's in Sacred Jewish Music from the Academy for Jewish Religion California. For her Master's thesis, she conducted original fieldwork in the area of preserving, notating, and sharing Persian Jewish prayer melodies with communities around the world, a passion deriving from her multicultural identity as a Persian Jewish woman and first-generation American. She performed many of these pieces in her Senior Recital, Kol Haneshama, at STS, which is available to view on YouTube. 

Prior to becoming a cantor, Cantor Rafii earned her JD from UCLA School of Law and practiced entertainment law. She is a published composer and pianist, and performs Jewish music in Hebrew, Ladino, Farsi and English. She is also an Alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship. Cantor Rafii lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Lev, and daughter, Adira.