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From early childhood to adulthood, music, language, drama and Jewish Education have been an integral part of Shirley Cohen’s life.
Shirley was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, the youngest of six children (with a twin brother) of a ‘singing family’.
At age five she performed on a radio program in New York: the Horn and Hardart Hour. As a young adult she began taking voice lessons and soon performed in recitals and events for local organizations and media, including “Shiray Moledet,” a weekly radio program on station WEVD in New York.
Shirley received Bachelors degrees in psychology and languages, and a Masters in Education certified to teach pre-school through grade one. She also received a Bachelor of Letters from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.
Shirley spent many years as a teacher and supervisor of bi-cultural (Hebrew and English) pre-schools in New York.
In 1951, Shirley wrote and recorded the Holiday Music Box series for Chanukah, Passover and Purim to fill a need for creative Jewish holiday music and story that encouraged active participation by the children, though singing, dancing and acting. The timeless songs have since spread around the world and been taught in Jewish preschools and Kindergartens for generations.
After moving to Ottawa, Canada with her husband and their five children, Shirley founded the Israella Singers, a women’s choral group that performed for almost thirty years.
Shirley and Merida Sachs joined forces in the 1980’s as the Aviva Duo and recorded one album called “From Generation to Generation”, a collection of songs that reflect the rich legacy of a dispersed people ranging from Chasidic Nigunim to modern Israeli compositions.
In the last ten years she has been the founder, director and playwright of “Die Folkshpieler”, the Soloway Jewish Community Yiddish Theatre, also in Ottawa.

View all albums by Shirley Cohen Steinberg/The Aviva Duo

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