Composer Portrait: The Music Of Paul Schoenfield

Paul Schoenfield (1947-2024) was a unique and brilliant musician of decidedly American Jewish Experience. A virtuoso concert pianist and hugely gifted composer who wrote for first-class performers and ensembles, Paul was a devoutly orthodox Jew and a remarkable person. Retiring as professor of composition at the University of Michigan in 2021, he split his time between the U.S. and Israel. His music — a fascinating mashup of klezmer/Hasidic, liturgical, jazz, bluegrass, blues and Americana, and by turns intimate, frenetic, devotional, sardonic and terrifying — is well represented in the Milken Archive. Paul and I both grew up in Detroit, and I intersected with him professionally through the years. One chamber concert is hardly enough to do justice to his range and brilliance, but we’re going to try. Performed by UCLA students, faculty and alumni, the concert concludes with his 2001 Pulitzer Prize-nominated song cycle, “Camp Songs” for mezzo-soprano, baritone and instrumental ensemble. You can attend events at Lani Hall in person or via livestream. Paul Schoenberg Video Sampler Portrait of Pinchas - Memorial Concert for Paul Schoenfield [hidden] Pro-Arte Micro Documentary [hidden] Young People Concert Series – Leonard Bernstein featuring Paul Schoenfield, 19 [hidden] More Info below.