Born in Cumaná, Venezuela, American soprano Tania Arazi Coambs is a passionate and versatile performer, stage director, and writer. Recognized for her “searing and intense acting and singing”, Tania was a recipient of the American Prize Chicago Music Theater Award and made her début at Chicago Symphony Orchestra Hall singing the music of Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein . She has appeared internationally at the Shaw Theatre in London; St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome; the Urbania City Theater in Italy; the Errol Hill Theater in Bridgetown, Barbados; Muson Centre in Lagos, Nigeria; and with the Amadeus Opern Ensemble in Salzburg, Austria. She has also performed with the Allerton Music Barn Festival, Opera Venezuela, the Pittsburgh Savoyards, the Festival of Women Composers, Station Theatre, Illinois Opera Theater, and with the Danville Symphony Orchestra.
With her strong interest in Spanish music and art song, as well as in jazz, French cabaret, and music theatre, she has performed in concert with the Danville Symphony Orchestra, and with groups such as the Tania Arazi Coambs Trio, the George Turner Trio, Tango Espejo, Tempest Performers, as well as presented recitals at the Mid-America Guitar Festival, the Southern Illinois Music Festival, and Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.
As a director and an assistant director, she has worked with Opera Theater of Pittsburgh, DiCapo Opera, the Southern Illinois Music Festival, New Opera St. Louis, the Station Theatre, Armory Free Theatre, Parkland College Theater, and CU Theatre Company. She previously served as the Producer/Director of Opera/Music Theater at Indiana University of Pennsylvania where she directed the main stage opera productions, as well as directed several programs of musical theatre and operatic scenes. From 2015-2016, she was a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation Observership Class.
Tania holds a doctorate in Vocal Performance and Literature with a concentration in Stage Direction from the University of Illinois, a Master's in Opera / Music Theatre with a concentration in Stage Direction from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and a Bachelor's degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Illinois. She was previously a member of the Beth Morrison Projects Producer Academy where she is took intensive courses in Fundraising, Budgeting, and Touring.