Hershey Felder


Hershey Felder is a pianist, actor, and playwright known for his portrayals of classical and American composers on the theatrical stage.

Early life

Felder was born on July 9, 1968, to Jacob Felder and Eva Surek Felder. Felder's upbringing in a Jewish family included Eastern European Jewish traditions.

Career

Felder moved to Los Angeles in 1994, working briefly for the USC Shoah Foundation, interviewing Holocaust survivors to preserve their oral histories on film. The following year, he attended the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in Poland, which led to his creation at a Los Angeles workshop production in 1999 of a one-man show, George Gershwin Alone.
In 2010, he premiered his one-man play-with-music about Leonard Bernstein, Maestro. In 2013, Felder received a letter from Russian officials inviting him to portray Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The same month, Russian authorities had passed anti-gay legislation. Since Tchaikovsky is believed to have been homosexual, Felder named his work "Our Great Tchaikovsky", performing it only in the U.S.
A 2014 American Theatre profile referred to Felder as being "in a category all his own". His major portrayals are those of George Gershwin, Frédéric Chopin, Ludwig van Beethoven, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and Claude Debussy. He has also given a dramatic impersonation of the American songwriter Irving Berlin.
In 2014, Felder directed concert pianist Mona Golabek in The Pianist of Willesden Lane, an adaptation of the book The Children of Willesden Lane, telling the story of Golabek's mother as an adolescent in the Kindertransport during World War II.
As a composer, Felder's works include Noah's Ark, an Opera, Aliyah Concerto on Israeli Themes, as well as Song Settings. In September 2010, An American Story was recorded with the Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra of Chicago.
In 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Felder launched a year-round global livestreaming Hershey Felder Presents: Live from Florence with a performance of "Hershey Felder: Beethoven" on July 12 in partnership with 15 regional theaters closed by the pandemic.

Personal life

Felder is married to former Canadian prime minister Kim Campbell. They share residences in Paris and Florence.

Composer plays

Felder has written and performed solo in seven plays of notable composers, with an eighth scheduled for April 2020.
TitleRelease DateNotes
George Gershwin Alone1999Felder's portrayal of pianist George Gershwin began as a Los Angeles workshop
Monsieur Chopin2005A musical examination of Chopin
Beethoven2008A concert, lecture and dramatized play about Beethoven
Maestro 2010A bio-drama about Leonard Bernstein, first performed at the Geffen Theater in 2010
Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin2014A musical biography, character study and piano performance of songwriter Irving Berlin
Our Great Tchaikovsky2017The story of Tchaikovsky brought to life through music and characterization
A Paris Love Story2019Felder portrays pianist Claude Debussy in Paris.
Anna & Sergei2020Felder plays Russian pianist and composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, premiering April 2020.

Discography