Musica Ebraïca is a chamber choir founded in 2001 by a small group of people who felt that the beauty of Jewish Choral Music should be shared with the larger community.  We sing a repertoire consisting of a very eclectic mix of music ranging from Renaissance Italian to modern American/Canadian and from European Yiddish to Mediterranean Ladino.

As the singers explore the music, they learn as well, about the cultures and settings that influenced the sounds they sing.  Singers have a variety of religious and ethnic backgrounds and are united by the love of singing and the pleasure that Jewish music brings to choir and listeners.  We present two major concerts and many smaller ones each season.

Larry Tarof, Choir Director

Larry Tarof (“Dr. L”) is an Ottawa-based collaborative musician with three decades of professional experience in musical theater, jazz, rock, Jewish and classical genres.

In addition to this role at Musica Ebraica, current roles include MD/collaborative pianist for the Carleton University Musical Theatre/Lyric Ensemble (CUMTE), Friday night soloist at Temple Israel (voice/guitar/piano), musical director (voice/guitar/piano/curriculum/musicology responsibility) at Temple Israel Religious School, collaborative pianist for Ottawa Children’s Theater and private teaching/gigs. Classically trained, Larry’s heart is in jazz/musical theater/Jewish music. He has accompanied/coached >1,000 competitive musical theater performances at Kiwanis/OMFA Provincials, directed multiple choirs/instrumental ensembles and performed in various gigs. His continually growing body of original works (100+) includes jazz, musical theatre, pop/rock and sacred music. A number of his liturgical compositions are heard regularly at Temple Israel and he is excited for a choral composition debut at this concert. At the studio, he has produced/performed on many demos, thousands of backup tracks/arrangements for many hundreds of clients, and also six complete full-length CDs.

Selected recent credits pre-pandemic: “C is for Cosmopolitan” (DOMS recital series, 2019, piano); Songs for a New World (2018, CUMTE, MD/accompanist), 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2016, CUMTE, MD/accompanist); “In the Next Room” (Same Day Theatre, composer, 2013), “Prayer and Celebration – Liturgical Music from Around the World” (Musica Ebraica, bass, 2013), “My Name is Asher Lev” (9th Hour Theater, composer, 2012); “C is for Cosmopolitan” (full length CD, composer/piano, >100 NPR radio stations airplay, 2012); 11 Note Chords educational iPad piano apps (principal, creative authority, 2012); Olympus the Musical (composer, MD, piano, 2011); Juno Award winner Jen Gould’s Music Soup Concert (DVD, piano, 2010); “My Parents’ Favourite Yiddish Songs” (Isaac Muzikansky, full length CD, producer, arranger, piano and other instruments, 2011), “Modeh Ani/Gratitude” (Shneur, full length CD, producer, arranger, piano/guitar and other instruments, 2008).

On the eclectic side, “Dr L.” is also an R&D scientist, having earned his M.Eng/Ph.D. in semiconductor physics, has CEO, CTO and Principal Scientist day gigs in the high tech world interspersed with bouts of being a full-time musician, and has been on part-time faculty at Carleton U both for EE and music. Someday maybe he’ll join Twitter/Instagram.

www.dr-l-music.com

Tania Granata, Accompanist

Tania began her musical studies at the age of 4 in Ottawa, studying with Sonia Pescatore. She excelled through the various young performing arts clubs and participated in local, provincial and national competitions, winning many top prizes, awards and scholarships. She continued her studies at the University of Ottawa, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Music and Modern Languages. She also earned the Associateship of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto in Piano Pedagogy and is passionate about musical education. Tania also studied vocal accompaniment with the Manhattan School of Music in NYC.

She has performed as a soloist, accompanist and chamber musician for many organizations and as an invited quest at the Italian Embassy and the National Arts Center. She has collaborated with many internationally renowned musicians and composers such as Nancy Telfer, Stephen Chatman and Christopher Norton who called her “a musically sensitive player that is a true artist.” After completing her studies, she was asked to come on as Faculty at Camerata Music, a unique teaching studio in the Westboro area of Ottawa.

Tania was responsible for bringing Contemporary Showcase back to the National Capital Region where she was the Centre Coordinator for 15 years. She is Past President of the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Registered Teacher’s Association and also chairs the annual Canada Music Week auditions and recitals. She also had a two year term on Provincial Council for ORMTA. She is the Past President of the Ottawa West Junior Music Club as well its Chair of the Audition and Programming Committee, a title she held for 10 years.

As well as teaching privately, Tania teaches the Music for Young Children program; she is a certified Music for Young Children Teacher Trainer and has traveled across North America training teachers on the MYC philosophy. She has given workshops at various piano pedagogy conferences across North America as part of her passion for instilling a love of music in young children. Tania has also been a judge for the past 18 years in the world’s largest composition festival which is held in Ottawa as part of the Music for Young Children program.

Tania has accompanied for various instruments as well as at ballet studios throughout Ontario and Quebec, with a focus on accompanying for voice students and professional singers. In 2012 she was the Musical Director for You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown. In 2015, she was the pianist for the touring production of La Boheme through Ottawa’s Bytown Operantics, Toronto’s Opera by Request and Sudbury’s Theater Cambrian series. In 2018 she was the accompanist for Suzart’s “James and the Giant Peach” production. In 2016, she co-founded the South Ottawa Performing Arts Collaborative (SOPAC) with her business partner, Ottawa-born soprano Morgan Strickland. Tania is Co-Artistic Director or SOPAC and has taken on the role as Producer for 5 seasons of operas. SOPAC is part of Ottawa’s opera scene since their first season including a hugely successful double bill production of Puccini’s “Suor Angelica” and Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci”, Massenet’s “Cendrillon” to name a few. Tania has also been the Co-Creator, Artistic Director and Music Director and accompanist for 6 seasons of SOPAC’s musical theater summer camps. She is very excited about this summer’s line up which includes a fully staged production of MTI’s The Aristocats.

Tania maintains a very active accompaniment schedule as well as repetiteur. She is wrapping up her first season as accompanist for Musica Ebraica in Ottawa.