Kalmanovitch is also quick to point out that she is grateful to the funding opportunities that exist in Canada for artists because they have assisted in part with her education as well as projects.

The violinist realizes that the brazen approach she took as a teenager to head for the largest city in the United States, while still in her teens, or spending a year in another country studying music, is not an approach that others may feel comfortable with, or have the opportunity to pursue. “You may not have the will to leave or your life circumstances may not permit you to leave. If you have children you may not want to just pick up and move to New York City, when you are not sure how you are going to legally live and work,” she says. 

Kalmanovitch has three solo projects to her credit (as well as appearing on numerous other projects), has her own jazz quartet Hut Five, she is heralded as one of the world’s foremost music educators, teaching regularly at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, England, at the Koninklijk Conservatorium at Den Haag, Netherlands and is a member of the faculty of Creative Improvisation at Boston’s New England Conservatory. She is also in demand to teach workshops throughout several European countries and the United States.

Kalmanovitch is a founding member of the Brooklyn Jazz Underground, a collective of independent bandleaders. The group acts as a forum for musicians to share resources and to establish a knowledge pool. For instance, often times a musician may be planning a tour in various parts of North America or Europe, and not have enough bookings to fill out the tour. When that happens they can ask other members of the group for their assistance in establishing contacts who may be helpful. That is just one small example of the many benefits of the Brooklyn Jazz Underground.

Tanya Kalmanovitch is a leader as a teacher, bandleader, musician and composer. One gets the sense that jazz fans will soon embrace what her peers already recognize, that being she is one of today’s most prolific musicians and composers.

August 2007

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