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Carla Friend

she/her

Carla Friend is the Founder and Executive Director of Tkiya: The Jewish Community Music Initiative. She holds a Masters Degree in Music Education from NYU, a Bachelors Degree in Music Education from Ithaca College, and has extensive experience on both the teaching and administrative ends of the field. She has taught and researched music and dance across a variety of cultures including locations such as Uganda, Japan, and the Middle East. Carla’s passion lies in community music education and connecting with culture through music and dance. She started Tkiya to help others find their unique connection with Jewish culture and to reinvigorate diverse Jewish communities.


Through her work with Tkiya, Carla engages with hundreds of families in the New York Metro Area through partnerships with more than two dozen Jewish organizations. Her approach to Jewish music for families is unique in that it is developed from a true educator’s perspective. This has proven to be so effective and inspiring that Tkiya is now in high demand all over New York and they are even providing family engagement for the majority of PJ Library’s New York initiatives. Carla and her staff think outside the walls, meet families where they are, and engage the unengaged. She looks forward to putting out her first album of recorded original music this year!


Carla Friend
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