Biography

Paul Lustig Dunkel, Music Director and Conductor of the Westchester Philharmonic since its founding in 1983, has led the ensemble to national prominence for the excellence of its programming, education programs, outreach and performance. Having just completed its twentieth season with a salute to the composers and performing artists who are part of Westchester's distinguished musical legacy, the anniversary marks another milestone in Mr. Dunkel's achievements as a creator and founder of musical institutions and as an advocate for American composers. The American Society of Composers and Publishers (ASCAP) in ceremonies at Lincoln Center in May 2002 at the end of the American Composers Orchestra (ACO) 25th anniversary season, honored him and his co-founders for their contributions to American music in establishing and building this important symphonic ensemble based in Carnegie Hall. In 1999, along with pianist Michael Boriskin, Artistic and Executive Director of Copland House, he co-founded Music from Copland House, a chamber music ensemble dedicated to the advocacy of American music. Based at the longtime home of Aaron Copland in Cortlandt Manor, critics have dubbed the ensemble "the paramount keeper of Copland's flame."

Maestro Dunkel and the Westchester Philharmonic were the recipients of the 2000 Leonard Bernstein Award for Educational Programming from ASCAP and the American Symphony Orchestra League for excellence and innovation in music education. "Exploring New Worlds: Music of the Americas" and its ground-breaking program of student commissioning of new work by a young composer was featured on "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" on PBS and recognized by the Westchester Arts Council with a 2001 Award.

Active in all aspects of classical music as conductor, flutist, composer, arranger and educator, he has worked with some of the pre-eminent composers and performers of 20th century music from Bernstein, Copland, Stravinsky and Stokowski to the leading figures of our day. He and the organizations with which he has been involved have commissioned many new works. His most recent commission, by the Westchester Philharmonic in recognition of his achievements as Music Director, Concerto for Flute, Strings, and Percussion by composer Melinda Wagner, was premiered in 1998 by the ORCHESTRA with Mr. Dunkel as soloist and released on Bridge Records in 2000. The 1999 Pulitzer Prize-winning work was repeated in Carnegie Hall and in venues around the country with Mr. Dunkel as soloist.

The depth and range of his talents and experience have taken him around the world. He has been Music Director of the Denver Chamber Orchestra, Principal Conductor of the Vermont Mozart Festival, and has appeared as guest conductor with the Denver, Baltimore, Buffalo, New Jersey, Oakland, Syracuse, Richmond, and American Symphonies, Brooklyn Philharmonic, and Orchestra of St. Luke's, at the Kremlin and in Taiwan. He conducted the Washington Opera premiere of "The Postman Always Rings Twice" by Stephen Paulus and, at the invitation of Virgil Thomson, a New York City revival of his "Four Saints in Three Acts." He has been involved extensively in the dance world, appearing with many companies here and abroad and with the New York City Ballet Orchestra. His recordings for Bridge, Nonesuch, Summit, CRI and New World Records have received wide critical acclaim, and his recording of The Early Music of Elliott Carter was selected as one of the Top 10 recordings of the year by Time and Newsweek.

Mr. Dunkel's recent appearances in the Wagner Concerto and other works in the United States and Mexico were highly acclaimed, reaffirming his long-standing reputation as A virtuoso flutist. Noted for his brilliance as a performer and his desire to expand the flute repertory through premieres and commissions, he is a Grammy nominee on his instrument. An original member of Speculum Musicae, and principal flute of the American Symphony Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski, the Brooklyn Philharmonic under Lukas Foss, the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble and many others, he has participated in the Spoleto, Casals, Aspen, Estival (Paris), Stratford and Marlboro Festivals and toured with Music from Marlboro. He and James Galway were the silver and gold medalists, respectively, in the 1966 Birmingham (England) International Woodwind Competition. The New York Times observed, "No guessing is necessary about Mr. Dunkel's stature as a musician or an instrumentalist. Playing of his deft and stylistically impeccable kind is rare, whether the music is new or old." Applauded as a pre-eminent exponent of the music of our time, Mr. Dunkel has taken his place in the history of American contemporary music as a founder, in 1978, of the American Composers Orchestra (ACO) with conductor Dennis Russell Davies and composers Francis Thorne and Nicholas Roussakis. Appearing frequently with the ensemble in Carnegie Hall, Mr. Dunkel has been instrumental in elevating the ensemble to its position as a leader in American music. Resident Conductor until he stepped down in 2000, he participated in its 25th anniversary activities by leading the ACO in its opening concert at Carnegie Hall and was recognized by ASCAP in May, 2002, for his role as co-founder. In addition to conducting the ACO in performance, Maestro Dunkel was actively involved in the program development and performance of its acclaimed series, Sonidos de los Américas, which presented the great variety of music of our hemisphere, and the Whitaker New Music Reading Program for younger composers.

Maestro Dunkel plays a crucial role in the extraordinary success of what Symphony magazine called "the suburban miracle" at the Westchester Philharmonic. Known for his exciting and innovative programs, he conceived and conducts MusicAmerica, an annual tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., PHILHARMANIACS!, concerts for families, and the Maestro Club for teens and middle school students. Strongly committed to education, he led the development of the orchestra's nationally-recognized Education Program, a multi-cultural, multi-disciplinary, curriculum-based, year-long activity that serves over 9,000 children each year in Westchester, Connecticut and the Bronx. As a composer/arranger, he displays his eclectic taste in music in works encompassing all musical genres. "Peter and the Wolf: The Sequel" inspired by Prokofiev; "Casey at the Bat," a cantata featuring voice, chorus and musical saw; and his arrangements of Verdi's String Quartet, AND folk, pop and jazz works for orchestra; as well as original orchestral works including Buckanalia and Windingo are notable for their humor and witty adaptation of classical forms.

A published writer, accomplished speaker and commentator for programs such as the nationally-syndicated program, "First Hearing," he conducts seminars and performances at major institutions across the country including The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Yale and Indiana University. His witty commentary has made his more informal Sunday concerts an audience favorite.

The son of a Viennese pianist, Johanna Lustig, and a Russian scenic designer, Eugene Dunkel, Paul Lustig Dunkel grew up in New York City and attended the High School of Music and Art. He studied flute with William Kincaid (renowned first-chair player of the Philadelphia Orchestra), Robert DiDomenica and Samuel Baron, and participated in master classes with Jean Pierre Rampal. Mr. Dunkel began his conducting career as a fellow with the National Orchestral Association under Leon Barzin, and with Erich Leinsdorf and Kresimir Sipusch at the Aspen Music Festival. He was the Founder and Music Director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic-sponsored OrChEsTrA of New York created under the U.S. government's CETA program, and served as Music Director of the White Plains (NY) Symphony.

He has received the American Symphony Orchestra's Leopold Stokowski Conducting Award, a Grammy nomination, awards from the Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund, Harriet Ditson Fund, New York State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, as well as the Silver Jubilee Award for outstanding alumni from Queens College and many regional and local awards for his work in the community.