ALUMNI HAVE RETURNED TO TEACH THE ARTS AT TANENBAUMCHAT— AND THE PROGRAM IS HITTING A HIGH NOTE BY ERIN SILVER
The arts are thriving at TanenbaumCHAT. With pandemic restrictions largely in the past, music, drama and art programming is in full swing and in person once again. Leading the way forward are alumni who studied arts at the school and couldn’t wait to get back to the front of the class. Jaclyn Klimitz ’03 is head of the music department. She began teaching at TanenbaumCHAT in September 2010. A singer by background, Klimitz was a vocal major in university but also plays piano and all band instruments. “I’ve always been passionate about music and knew it would be part of my life,” says Klimitz. Interestingly, there was no music program when she was a student, so she and her peers had to improvise. “In my
spares in Grade 11 and 12 I used to practice piano and vocal. I made it work, but my dream was to be able to do my art at school as part of the coursework.” When she graduated from teacher’s college and a music job opened up at her alma mater, Klimitz applied for the role. “Music was always a place where everyone could find a home and feel safe. It was always an inclusive space. Now that music is part of the curriculum rather than an extracurricular, it’s very exciting for me.” While continuing her education, Klimitz became interested in the integration of music and prayer. “Through my masters research I explored the connection between Jewish music and composers and the canon of classical musical composers.” Fascinated by how much www.tanenbaumchat.org | 23
