Helen Bonchek Schneyer
Encyclopedia
Helen Bonchek Schneyer was an American
folk music
ian. She was raised Jewish in New York City. While a student at Columbia University
, she was introduced to American folk music. She also sang Baptist
spirituals
.
Over a sixty year career, Schneyer worked with such influential artists as Pete Seeger
and Woody Guthrie
. Later in life, Schneyer frequently appeared on the Prairie Home Companion as well as many folk festivals.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
ian. She was raised Jewish in New York City. While a student at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, she was introduced to American folk music. She also sang Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
spirituals
Spiritual (music)
Spirituals are religious songs which were created by enslaved African people in America.-Terminology and origin:...
.
Over a sixty year career, Schneyer worked with such influential artists as Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
and Woody Guthrie
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
. Later in life, Schneyer frequently appeared on the Prairie Home Companion as well as many folk festivals.