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A Few Clouds Jewish center to host renowned pianist
East Meadow Jewish Center leaders are offering congregants plenty of sweet treats for Hanukkah. The synagogue will host renowned pianist, recording artist, composer and arranger, Jeffrey Biegel, for “Classical Music, Cupcakes and Candlelight” — a holiday concert and dessert bar.
The shul’s “smorgasboard room” will be converted into an intimate cabaret on Saturday, Dec. 12, — the seventh night of Hanukkah, — complete with comfortable cocktail table seating. A Baby Grand piano will be situated at the center of the room, where Biegel will play Johann Sebastian Bach, Frédéric Chopin and George Gershwin classics.
Biegel, 54, of Lynbrook, said he began playing piano at age 7. But until he had a special surgery at age 3, Biegel could neither hear nor speak. The “reverse Beethoven” phenomenon explains his life in music, as he heard only vibrations in his formative years.
Biegel’s family also has a rich musical history. His cousin, pianist Herman Kosoff, immigrated to the United States in the early 20th century and had studied with the legendary pianist, Leopold Godowsky, in Austria. Biegel’s grandmother’s cousin, pianist Dr. Sonia Slatin, graduated from Columbia University and actively performed and taught Schenkerian analysis at Brooklyn College.
Biegel noted that his interest in music was heavily influenced by his upbringing. “I think that because I grew up in the 1960s, I was exposed to a very large variety of musical styles. I listened to pop music and classical music…I began writing my own little things and pieces,” he said.
Biegel would go on to study at the Juilliard School with Adele Marcus, who was a pupil of Josef Lhevinne and Artur Schnabel, two acclaimed pianists. In addition to performing in piano recitals and competitions, he also began to write choral music.
