College of Arts and Sciences

On this week’s episode of Segue, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s weekly radio program exploring the lives and work of the people on campus and beyond, College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Dean Kevin Leonard, PhD, interviews Jeremy Schonfeld, American singer, songwriter and composer.

This episode of Segue airs at 9 a.m. Sunday, April 18. Listeners can tune in to WSIE 88.7 FM The Sound or siue.edu/wsie.

Originally from University City, Mo., Schonfeld now lives in Beacon, N.Y., with his wife and three children. He has composed several albums, including his most recent work, titled Brooklyn to Beacon. Through composing, producing and performing, Schonfeld shares the emotional experiences he’s had throughout his life.

In 2018, Schonfeld’s concept album Iron & Coal was developed into a large-scale multimedia theatrical concert and premiered at the Strathmore in Bethesda, Md. Iron & Coal is a personal piece that details what it was like for Schonfeld to grow up as the son of a Holocaust survivor.

SIUE’s Arts & Issues series is teaming up with Schonfeld by featuring Iron & Coal through a virtual performance and an exclusive post-production live panel discussion at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 29. The performance was filmed at the Strathmore and is free to the public.

“How did you come to be a performer and composer?” begins Leonard.

“At about 3 years old, my family received a piano from my grandparents,” says Schonfeld. “My mother says I immediately took to it and started writing melodies. I became obsessed with it fairly quickly.”

Although his brother and sister dropped out of piano lessons as they grew older, Schonfeld kept at it due to a developing interest in composing.

“I continued because I had this puzzle I constantly wanted to solve through composing,” adds Schonfeld. “Intuitively, I knew that I needed to learn more, and I continued on to begin lyric and songwriting.”

“How has the need to express yourself through music evolved throughout the years?” inquires Leonard.

“It’s been an ever-evolving process,” explains Schonfeld. “The older you get, the fuller your toolbelt is. I started as someone who needed to write songs, and in high school, I was tasked by some strong theater students to turn my work into a real show.”

As a teenager, Schonfeld wrote two full-length musicals to assist his school’s theater program. He later went on to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he credits his professors for guiding him as he honed his composing skills.

“What led you to write Iron & Coal?” asks Leonard.

“I grew up knowing that my Jewish family was unique because we were a first-generation American family,” says Schonfeld. “My father was a well-read individual, and conversations with him were never surface level. This influenced me greatly as a creative person.

“The challenge of trying to create music surrounding topics that are difficult emotionally has always been something I’m incredibly drawn to. The pressures of being a child of a holocaust survivor are varied. I often heard my father being told that he survived for a reason. When you feel the burden of that phrase as a child of a survivor, you feel a drive to succeed in a way that is almost beyond reality.”

“In 2009, your father published his memoir detailing his experiences of growing up in Auschwitz as a child,” notes Leonard. “How did that influence Iron & Coal?”

“I knew that at some point I’d need to write about the Holocaust and his experiences,” answers Schonfeld. “At first, I thought I needed to musicalize what he was writing. However, I realized quickly that it wasn’t my story to tell. What drew me to create my own work was the ticking clock of my father getting sick.

“I became very motivated to complete this album detailing my emotional experiences of growing up in his shadow. He died the day the album was mastered. He knew what I was creating and respected my story, but did not get to hear the final result.”

For more information on Schonfeld’s upcoming performance of Iron & Coal, visit siue.edu/arts-and-issues.

Tune in at 9 a.m. Sunday, April 18 to WSIE 88.7 The Sound to hear the entire conversation.