Although trained classically at the UMKC Conservatory, violinist, vocalist and composer/arranger Tara Novak has devoted the past 15 years of her life to studying music of many genres, specializing in Irish traditional music, jazz, musical theatre, and classical crossover.

Since 2007, Tara has been dividing her time between Ireland and the USA, completing a degree in orchestration and jazz performance at Berklee College of Music in between tours. She works extensively as a soloist, touring China for three months in 2015 as solo violinist for Heartbeat of Home, the new show from the producers of Riverdance. In 2013, she performed the Boston premiere of Bill Whelan’s double concerto Inishlacken with fiddler Zoe Conway. She is the guest soloist with both the Three Irish Tenors and Druid, as well as music-directing and leading her own shows, Ishna and Nollaig: An Irish Christmas, and has toured throughout Europe, North America, the Caribbean, and Asia.

When not on the road, Tara can frequently be found playing for Broadway musicals: recent credits include If/Then, The Sound of Music, Beauty & The Beast, Newsies, Motown the Musical, Finding Neverland, and The Lion King. She considers herself lucky to have shared the stage with some of the world’s greatest artists: Stevie Wonder, Rod Stewart, il Divo, Bill Bailey, Mannheim Steamroller, and more.

In addition to her busy performance schedule, Tara is also an active educator, recording artist, composer, and consultant – and an avid foodie in any time off she can find!