Hershey Felder
Encyclopedia
Hershey Felder is a Canadian pianist, actor, playwright, composer, and producer. He created (as playwright, actor, and pianist) the role of American composer George Gershwin
for the theatrical stage in the stage play George Gershwin Alone. Combining the craft of acting and concert-level piano performance, George Gershwin Alone was followed by the creation of the role of Fryderyk Chopin, the Polish composer/pianist, the roles of Ludwig van Beethoven
and Gerhard von Breuning in Beethoven, As I Knew Him, and the role of Leonard Bernstein
in Maestro: The Art of Leonard Bernstein. These works comprise "The Composer Sonata." To date, Felder has appeared before the paying public with his Sonata as well as in theatre roles and concerts for more than 4,000 performances. Felder has acknowledged that he will continue his theatrical one-man format with stories reaching further than just the art of classical music, and will also include his own compositions.
Of Felder’s compositions, Noah’s Ark, an Opera has been performed with members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. His Aliyah Concerto on Israeli Themes for piano and orchestra has been performed in Canada and in the United States. The Suite Les Anges de Paris for violin and piano, Etudes Thématiques, as well as Song Settings (the poetry of Vachel Lindsay) have been performed on and recorded by the WFMT Radio Network in Chicago. In September 2010, An American Story was recorded with the Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra, composed of members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra, and conducted by Alan Heatherington
.
Lauded by the majority of the international critical press, Hershey Felder’s works appear to inspire ardent fans as well as detractors much like the critical assessments of the work of the masters he represents.
Currently, Felder is the President of Eighty-Eight Entertainment, a music-based production company, producing new performance works worldwide. He is married to A. Kim Campbell
, the former Prime Minister of Canada.
, Duchess Theatre
.
National and International Appearances: Regional and international appearances of Composers Sonata (1999–2010) include Old Globe Theatre
, Arizona Theatre Company, Geffen Playhouse, Laguna Playhouse, Pasadena Playhouse, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Ford's Theatre, Cleveland Playhouse, American Repertory Theatre, Hartford Stage, Ravinia Festival, Chicago's Royal George Theatre, Prince Music Theatre (Philadelphia), The Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, Uijeongbu Theatre Festival (South Korea) and many others.
Upcoming International Appearances: Monsieur Chopin and Beethoven As I Knew Him.
Compositions: include Fairytale, a musical; Les Anges de Paris, Suite for Violin and Piano; Song Settings, poetry by Vachel Lindsay; Aliyah, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra; Saltimbanques for Piano and Orchestra; Etudes Thematiques for Piano.
Recordings: include Love Songs of the Yiddish Theatre, Back from Broadway, and George Gershwin Alone and Monsieur Chopin for the WFMT Radio Network Recordings label; Beethoven As I Knew Him and An American Story for the Eighty Eight Entertainment label. Worldwide live broadcasts, George Gershwin Alone, July 2005 and May 2011. National broadcast of Monsieur Chopin, November 2005.
Current Projects: include a Negaunee Foundation Chicago composition commission, and the new musical, An American Story, as well as a recording of current compositions. Maestro: The Art of Leonard Bernstein
was presented at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois
in a sold-out performance on Sunday, September 5, 2010 and had its world premiere at the Geffen Playhouse in November 2010.
Sing, A Musical Journey (Los Angeles, 1998)
George Gershwin Alone (Los Angeles World Premiere; International, 2000–present)
Back From Broadway (Los Angeles, Florida, New York, Boston, 2002–2003)
Romantique (Boston, 2003)
Monsieur Chopin (Chicago World Premiere; International, 2005–present)
Beethoven, As I Knew Him (San Diego World Premiere; International, 2008–present)
An American Story (Los Angeles World Premiere; 2009–present)
Maestro: The Art of Leonard Bernstein (Los Angeles World Premiere; 2010–present)
, Quebec
, Canada
on July 9, 1968 to Jacob Felder (born in Ustrzyki
, Poland
, 1929) and Eva Surek Felder (born in Budapest, Hungary, 1946). A first-generation North-American, much of Felder’s upbringing included Eastern European traditions, in particular traditions associated with the Jewish faith into which he was born. Early schooling included Hebrew Academy Day School of Montreal as well as synagogue affiliations with Tifereth Beth David Jerusalem Synagogue in Cote St. Luc, Quebec.
In 1976, Felder’s mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She died six years later, at the age of 35, leaving Hershey and his younger sister, Tammy (b. 1973), to be raised by their father alone. In 1989, while pursuing a career in theater and music, Felder met Cara Lynn Gaffen, an actress, at the Yiddish Theatre of the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts in Montreal. Felder and Gaffen were married in 1991, and the couple divorced in 1993.
In 1994, Felder made his way to Los Angeles where he spent a brief time working for Steven Spielberg’s Shoah Foundation
interviewing Holocaust survivors in order to catalog their oral histories
on film. The following year, he was invited to take part as one of four interviewers to attend the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz in Poland, which led to his creation of George Gershwin Alone. Upon returning to the United States, Felder was invited to present a concert performance at the Canadian Consular Residence in Los Angeles, in honor of Kim Campbell
, Canada’s only female Prime Minister. Reports of this meeting reference a "love at first sight" encounter, and Felder and Campbell, 21 years his senior, have been inseparable ever since. One year later, in September 1997, Felder and Campbell entered into an official common law marriage, recognized by Canadian Law.
After Campbell's departure from Canadian Politics and governmental duties, Campbell and Felder moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts
, where Campbell was a Professor of Practice at Harvard University
's Kennedy School for Government, and Felder was invited to open a production of George Gershwin Alone at the American Repertory Theatre
at Harvard. This production went on to be the highest-grossing production of any booked in production in the theatre's history. In 2004, Felder and Campbell moved to Chicago where Felder opened a production of George Gershwin Alone as well as presenting the world premiere of Monsieur Chopin. At this time, Campbell was named a Vice President and the Secretary General of the Club of Madrid
, an organization of over 70 former Heads of State and Government who promote democratic transition. Felder and Campbell currently split their time between North America and Europe while they both continue to be before the public internationally.
are recognized as full-time collaborators with Zwick directing stage work for all of Felder’s artistic projects.
Felder is a former Scholar in Residence at Harvard University’s School Of Music (2002–2004) and a former member of the Board of Directors of the Chicago College of Performing Arts
, where he created and sponsored a classical music competition entitled "The Real Thing."
He has presented Master Classes in Music and Theatre Arts at: The Chicago College of Performing Arts, The University of Pennsylvania, The Boston Conservatory, The Old Globe Theatre
(San Diego).
Jeffrey Kallberg, a Professor of Music and Chairman of the University of Pennsylvania
's Department of Music, acts as musical history advisor on all of Felder’s projects.
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
for the theatrical stage in the stage play George Gershwin Alone. Combining the craft of acting and concert-level piano performance, George Gershwin Alone was followed by the creation of the role of Fryderyk Chopin, the Polish composer/pianist, the roles of Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
and Gerhard von Breuning in Beethoven, As I Knew Him, and the role of Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
in Maestro: The Art of Leonard Bernstein. These works comprise "The Composer Sonata." To date, Felder has appeared before the paying public with his Sonata as well as in theatre roles and concerts for more than 4,000 performances. Felder has acknowledged that he will continue his theatrical one-man format with stories reaching further than just the art of classical music, and will also include his own compositions.
Of Felder’s compositions, Noah’s Ark, an Opera has been performed with members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. His Aliyah Concerto on Israeli Themes for piano and orchestra has been performed in Canada and in the United States. The Suite Les Anges de Paris for violin and piano, Etudes Thématiques, as well as Song Settings (the poetry of Vachel Lindsay) have been performed on and recorded by the WFMT Radio Network in Chicago. In September 2010, An American Story was recorded with the Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra, composed of members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra, and conducted by Alan Heatherington
Alan Heatherington
Alan Heatherington is one of the leading orchestra conductors in Illinois. He has conducted and/or played with virtually all of the major orchestras in the Chicago area...
.
Lauded by the majority of the international critical press, Hershey Felder’s works appear to inspire ardent fans as well as detractors much like the critical assessments of the work of the masters he represents.
Currently, Felder is the President of Eighty-Eight Entertainment, a music-based production company, producing new performance works worldwide. He is married to A. Kim Campbell
Kim Campbell
Avril Phædra Douglas "Kim" Campbell, is a Canadian politician, lawyer, university professor, diplomat, and writer. She served as the 19th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 25, 1993, to November 4, 1993...
, the former Prime Minister of Canada.
Performance history
Broadway, London’s West End: George Gershwin Alone, Helen Hayes TheatreHelen Hayes Theatre
Helen Hayes Theatre with 597 seats is the smallest Broadway theatre and is located at 240 West 44th Street in midtown-Manhattan....
, Duchess Theatre
Duchess Theatre
The Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street, near Aldwych.The theatre opened on 25 November 1929 and is one of the smallest 'proscenium arched' West End theatres. It has 479 seats on two levels....
.
National and International Appearances: Regional and international appearances of Composers Sonata (1999–2010) include Old Globe Theatre
Old Globe Theatre
The Old Globe is a professional theatre company located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons...
, Arizona Theatre Company, Geffen Playhouse, Laguna Playhouse, Pasadena Playhouse, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Ford's Theatre, Cleveland Playhouse, American Repertory Theatre, Hartford Stage, Ravinia Festival, Chicago's Royal George Theatre, Prince Music Theatre (Philadelphia), The Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, Uijeongbu Theatre Festival (South Korea) and many others.
Upcoming International Appearances: Monsieur Chopin and Beethoven As I Knew Him.
Compositions: include Fairytale, a musical; Les Anges de Paris, Suite for Violin and Piano; Song Settings, poetry by Vachel Lindsay; Aliyah, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra; Saltimbanques for Piano and Orchestra; Etudes Thematiques for Piano.
Recordings: include Love Songs of the Yiddish Theatre, Back from Broadway, and George Gershwin Alone and Monsieur Chopin for the WFMT Radio Network Recordings label; Beethoven As I Knew Him and An American Story for the Eighty Eight Entertainment label. Worldwide live broadcasts, George Gershwin Alone, July 2005 and May 2011. National broadcast of Monsieur Chopin, November 2005.
Current Projects: include a Negaunee Foundation Chicago composition commission, and the new musical, An American Story, as well as a recording of current compositions. Maestro: The Art of Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
was presented at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois
Highland Park, Illinois
Highland Park is a suburban municipality in Lake County, Illinois, United States, about north of downtown Chicago. As of 2009, the population is 33,492. Highland Park is one of several municipalities located on the North Shore of the Chicago Metropolitan Area.-Overview:Highland Park was founded...
in a sold-out performance on Sunday, September 5, 2010 and had its world premiere at the Geffen Playhouse in November 2010.
History as producer, commercial
Noah’s Ark, an Opera (Los Angeles, June 1997)Sing, A Musical Journey (Los Angeles, 1998)
George Gershwin Alone (Los Angeles World Premiere; International, 2000–present)
Back From Broadway (Los Angeles, Florida, New York, Boston, 2002–2003)
Romantique (Boston, 2003)
Monsieur Chopin (Chicago World Premiere; International, 2005–present)
Beethoven, As I Knew Him (San Diego World Premiere; International, 2008–present)
An American Story (Los Angeles World Premiere; 2009–present)
Maestro: The Art of Leonard Bernstein (Los Angeles World Premiere; 2010–present)
Personal life
Felder was born in MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
on July 9, 1968 to Jacob Felder (born in Ustrzyki
Ustrzyki Dolne
Ustrzyki Dolne is a town in south-eastern Poland, close to the border with Ukraine, with 9,383 inhabitants .Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship , it is the capital of Bieszczady County....
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, 1929) and Eva Surek Felder (born in Budapest, Hungary, 1946). A first-generation North-American, much of Felder’s upbringing included Eastern European traditions, in particular traditions associated with the Jewish faith into which he was born. Early schooling included Hebrew Academy Day School of Montreal as well as synagogue affiliations with Tifereth Beth David Jerusalem Synagogue in Cote St. Luc, Quebec.
In 1976, Felder’s mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She died six years later, at the age of 35, leaving Hershey and his younger sister, Tammy (b. 1973), to be raised by their father alone. In 1989, while pursuing a career in theater and music, Felder met Cara Lynn Gaffen, an actress, at the Yiddish Theatre of the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts in Montreal. Felder and Gaffen were married in 1991, and the couple divorced in 1993.
In 1994, Felder made his way to Los Angeles where he spent a brief time working for Steven Spielberg’s Shoah Foundation
Shoah Foundation
Shoah foundations are organizations that are formed to further the remembrance of the Holocaust of World War II. There are currently two major foundations that are internationally active.-Major Shoah Foundations:...
interviewing Holocaust survivors in order to catalog their oral histories
Oral history
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews...
on film. The following year, he was invited to take part as one of four interviewers to attend the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz in Poland, which led to his creation of George Gershwin Alone. Upon returning to the United States, Felder was invited to present a concert performance at the Canadian Consular Residence in Los Angeles, in honor of Kim Campbell
Kim Campbell
Avril Phædra Douglas "Kim" Campbell, is a Canadian politician, lawyer, university professor, diplomat, and writer. She served as the 19th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 25, 1993, to November 4, 1993...
, Canada’s only female Prime Minister. Reports of this meeting reference a "love at first sight" encounter, and Felder and Campbell, 21 years his senior, have been inseparable ever since. One year later, in September 1997, Felder and Campbell entered into an official common law marriage, recognized by Canadian Law.
After Campbell's departure from Canadian Politics and governmental duties, Campbell and Felder moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, where Campbell was a Professor of Practice at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
's Kennedy School for Government, and Felder was invited to open a production of George Gershwin Alone at the American Repertory Theatre
American Repertory Theatre
The American Repertory Theater is a professional not-for-profit theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1980 by Robert Brustein, the A.R.T. is known for its commitment to new American plays and music–theater explorations; to neglected works of the past; and to established classical texts...
at Harvard. This production went on to be the highest-grossing production of any booked in production in the theatre's history. In 2004, Felder and Campbell moved to Chicago where Felder opened a production of George Gershwin Alone as well as presenting the world premiere of Monsieur Chopin. At this time, Campbell was named a Vice President and the Secretary General of the Club of Madrid
Club of Madrid
The Club de Madrid is an independent non-profit organization created to promote democracy and change in the international community. Composed of 80 former Presidents and Prime Ministers from 56 countries, the Club de Madrid is the world’s largest forum of former Heads of State and Government.Among...
, an organization of over 70 former Heads of State and Government who promote democratic transition. Felder and Campbell currently split their time between North America and Europe while they both continue to be before the public internationally.
Education
- Piano studies with Dorothy Morton, Eugene Plawutsky, McGill University, Montreal, Canada, (1981–1988)
- Piano Studies with Jerome Lowenthal, NYC (1988–2001)
- Opera studies, conducting, accompanying, composition, McGill University, Montreal, Canada (1985–1988)
- Hebrew Academy Day School, primary and secondary education, (1971–1985)
Affiliations
Felder and Joel ZwickJoel Zwick
Joel Zwick is an American film, television and theatre director. He is best known for his work on Perfect Strangers, Full House, Family Matters and well as directing the films My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Second Sight and Fat Albert.Born in Brooklyn, New York, he was educated at Brooklyn College...
are recognized as full-time collaborators with Zwick directing stage work for all of Felder’s artistic projects.
Felder is a former Scholar in Residence at Harvard University’s School Of Music (2002–2004) and a former member of the Board of Directors of the Chicago College of Performing Arts
Chicago College of Performing Arts
Chicago College of Performing Arts is a performing arts college that is housed at Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois. The college has two divisions: the Music Conservatory and the Theatre Conservatory.- History :...
, where he created and sponsored a classical music competition entitled "The Real Thing."
He has presented Master Classes in Music and Theatre Arts at: The Chicago College of Performing Arts, The University of Pennsylvania, The Boston Conservatory, The Old Globe Theatre
Old Globe Theatre
The Old Globe is a professional theatre company located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons...
(San Diego).
Jeffrey Kallberg, a Professor of Music and Chairman of the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
's Department of Music, acts as musical history advisor on all of Felder’s projects.