TanenbaumCHAT celebrates the 18th anniversary of its music program
When veteran music teacher Janice Rose was asked to start a music program at TanenbaumCHAT 18 years ago, she had a lot of thinking to do. She had been in her previous teaching job for 20 years and didn’t know anyone at TanenbaumCHAT. But they gave Rose a budget to buy and rent brass, woodwind and percussion instruments and design a music room. With music as her guiding light, Rose decided to make the leap.
“I signed on as a consultant, and quickly learned that the students from the Jewish day schools feeding into TanenbaumCHAT had no music background,” says Rose. “We started with 80 students that first year—74 had never picked up an instrument before.”
By the end of the first school year, Rose taught two Grade 9 and one Grade 10 class how to play musical instruments. In her second year, another music teacher, Robyn Cooke, was hired full time as the music program expanded. “The program kept getting bigger and bigger,” says Rose.
Now in her 15th year with the TanenbaumCHAT music program, Music Department Head Jaclyn Klimitz ’03, played a major role in its expansion. A talented vocalist who plays several instruments, she was hired in 2010 and became head of the music program in 2012. “I attended TanenbaumCHAT before there was a music program,” says Klimitz, who lamented the fact at the time. “When I was at teacher’s college and found out that the TanenbaumCHAT music department was expanding, and that they were looking for a new teacher, I applied for the job immediately.”
Today, Klimitz is especially proud of all the ways her student-musicians have grown over the years. “What’s special about the music program is that it gives students an opportunity to learn something new, to express themselves in new ways, make lifelong friends, and work collaboratively to attain a satisfying goal,” says Klimitz. “It’s incredible for students and alumni to feel proud of their own accomplishments and see their own growth. They get to feel part of a special community within the wider TanenbaumCHAT community.”
As the largest Jewish community high school in North America, TanenbaumCHAT is the only Jewish community high school in Canada offering a music program. The band and vocal programs boast 164 Grades 9 to 12 students. They have performed at the annual Music Night in April, Generations Day in November, Arts Café in December and for various community and cultural music events, including the Zimriyah Music Festival hosted by UJA Federation of Greater Toronto and Canada’s Wonderland Festival of Music.
While some graduates went on to pursue professional music careers, most have gone on to other careers. But music still holds a special place in their lives—and it continues to bring them back to TanenbaumCHAT. This past April, during Music Night, the biggest music event of the year, the entire music department’s band and vocal students in various combinations performed in a culminating concert. It was no accident that the new Alumni Music Ensemble performed a song with the Grade 12 students titled, “You’ll Be Back.”
Head of School Dr. Jonathan Levy calls the music program one of the “crown jewels” of the school. “It’s a unique program among Jewish high schools in North America,” says Levy, who himself is a proud parent of former TanenbaumCHAT band members. “Kids can come without knowing how to play, but they can stay for four years and leave with an incredible ability to play. It’s a tight-knit program where students learn lots of transferable skills,” he says.
Some of these transferable skills include teamwork, confidence, cooperation, commitment, multitasking, patience, and the ability to listen. “Even if students don’t continue in music, there’s great value in what they learn.” That alumni have come back to play together is a testament to the strength of the program. “Graduates from 18 years of music classes got together to perform,” says Levy. “It shows their connection to the program and teachers, even years later, and their desire to remain part of the community.”
TanenbaumCHAT principal Renee Cohen ’96 points out that music and song have been a unifying force for the Jewish people since ancient times, and the outstanding music program at TanenbaumCHAT proudly continues this cherished tradition. “From the moment B’nai Yisrael crossed the Red Sea, they joined Moshe in a spontaneous song of celebration—the first time since their departure from Egypt that they sang as one,” says Cohen. “This profound moment, as recounted in Exodus 15:1, exemplifies the power of music. It arose from emotion and joy, binding their voices into a shared melody that conveyed unity, resilience, and purpose.”
This legacy endures at TanenbaumCHAT. “Just as Moshe and B’nai Yisrael joined in harmony, our music department fosters a close-knit community of musicians who use their art to inspire, uplift, and effect change in the world. Echoing the words of Bono, ‘Music can change the world because it can change people.’”
That’s exactly the sentiment that underscores the music program at the school today. “My goal as a music teacher is to show students the true value of music and to help them grow as students, musicians, and people,” says music teacher Orly Lewis ’16.
Lewis was in the vocal music program and band when she was a student at TanenbaumCHAT. She loved the music program so much that she dreamed of returning as a teacher to inspire future music students the way she was inspired—and now she has. “I encourage students to make big mistakes and give them the space to do so in a safe and supportive environment. My hope is that my students develop a true love and appreciation for all the wonderful things music has to offer.”
Grade 12 student Ayla D. is a member of the band. “Music has been such a special part of my TanenbaumCHAT experience,” she says. “Music offers a sense of community. Everyone in the program always has a place in the music room—it’s a place of support, encouragement, and growth. The collaborative environment is so unique and it teaches you so many important skills that you wouldn’t otherwise learn in a classroom.”
Melanie Shimov ’18 focused on vocals during her time at TanenbaumCHAT and was excited to return to sing with the choir on Music Night. “The program was like a family. I remember it being very comfortable, exciting and fun and it helped my confidence,” says Shimov. “Coming back to perform was nostalgic and brought back fond memories of high school. Reconnecting with previous classmates was really nice.”
The idea that music is helping students is rewarding for Klimitz. “I get great joy out of seeing students being able to accomplish things they previously thought weren’t possible—like when I hand them some music and they think it’s too hard. Then two months later they can play it,” she says. “I love the opportunity to be able to spend my days making music with students and connecting with them in ways that aren’t possible in other rooms of the school.”
Rose, who retired from TanenbaumCHAT in 2017 and now plays tuba in several community bands and recently played with the TanenbaumCHAT Alumni Music Ensemble, realizes what a special opportunity it was to teach music at the school. “I became a music teacher not to produce professional musicians, but to encourage students to become good people with positive character who contribute to society. I did that through music.” During preparations for the alumni concert, Rose would stop and look around the room. “I’d think how fortunate I am to still be involved and to have so many alumni playing even if they graduated 14 years ago,” says Rose. “Proud doesn’t even begin to cover it.”
Adds Klimitz, “I am so grateful to be teaching in a program that we used to only dream about.”
