For much of my childhood I watched my father “conduct” every classical LP we had. He poured all of his emotions into it and I believed that the recorded orchestra was following him. I remember “conducting” my kindergarten class. Miss Hardel handed out an odd assortment of drums and whistles. She put a stick in my hand and said to wave it at the class.
Skip to Performing Arts High School in the heart of Times Square; graduation day. Somehow I managed to swing a prime spot on the program, conducting Eine Kleine Nacht Musik by W.A. Mozart. Martha Graham was the guest speaker. Inspiring! Onto Queens College and then The Mannes College of Music studying piano and conducting.
Eventually I turned to writing as my main musical expression. Music and lyrics for the theater was my focus early on and then music for film. I re-discovered my love for concert music recently. Chamber music, choral music and orchestral music has been pouring out of me for the past several years and it has been a great new adventure.
Music is a mystery. How does it move souls to dance, cry, sing, feel pride or humility? How can music function as a meditation on one hand and an anthem for war on the other? How can a sound get inside one’s feelings and profoundly elicit emotions? The true global language.
UPCOMING
“IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE”- A NEW ONE WOMAN MUSICAL
BOOK BY KATE FUGLEI/MUSIC & LYRICS BY LESLIE STEINWEISS
A READING FOR “IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE” WILL BE SCHEDULED SOON IN THE NYC AREA
FOR MORE INFO PLEASE GO TO THE WEBSITE WWW.INTHEBLINK.COM
“THE GRIP OF EVIL:THE ENDURANCE OF HOPE”
A CANTATA TO COMMEMORATE YOM HA’SHOAH
MUSIC,LYRICS AND DIALOGUE BY LESLIE STEINWEISS
PREMIERE ON MAY 1ST IN GLOUCESTER, MA.
OTHER PAST HIGHLIGHTS
"Rachel Calof "
McNay Museum, San Antonio, TX
Minnesota Jewish Theater Company
NYCFringe International Theater Festival
Pepperdine University, John Raitt Theater
Ensemble Studio Theater-west coast
YMHA WEST SIDE NYC
AND MANY MORE AROUND THE USA
80's-90's
"The School of Jolly Dogs" workshop
Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Waterford ct
HOME for Contemporary Theater and Art
"Beautiful Soup"
Olympia Dukakis’Whole Theater NJ
Home for Contemporary Theater and Art NYC
"Alice in Wonderland"
SummerNITE, Chicago
Lincoln Center Teaching Institute NYC
Dearknows Theater Company
The Price of Genius”
Lambs Theater, Broadway production
West Bank Cafe', nyc
ASCAP musical theater workshop
BMI musical theater workshop