T. was born on 24 July 1894 in Uman, Kiev Gubernia, Ukraine. A distant relative of Mischa Elman. His father was a klezmer musician in Sabsey's Yiddish itinerant troupe. He learned in a cheder and spent a year in the Talner yeshiva, completing the city school, then a four-class gymnasium, and he studied violin and music theory in the Kiev conservatory. Then he was taken around across the cities as an orchestra conductor, and he spent a season as musical director in an operetta troupe under the direction of a mystery conductor. Again in Lugansk as an assistant conductor for the symphony orchestra, later migrating to Italy, where he spent one-and-a-half years acting under the leadership of Toscani. Due to military service he went away to France, where he performed in cafe houses.

In 1915 he came to America, where he performed in hotels, then he became a violinist in the Yiddish theatre, simultaneously for six seasons as assistant conductor with Rumshinsky and two seasons with Olshanetsky.

In 1929-30 he was engaged at the Yiddish Art Theatre as the composer and musical director, composing the English music for Lion Feuchtwanger's "Jew Suss," for Chone Gottesfeld's "Malokhim oyf der erd". He arranged the music for Sholem Aleichem's "Blondzhende shtern (Wandering Stars)", composed the music for the children's play "Di kleyne mlukhh" and  specialized afterwards as the arranger for Goldfaden's operettas