Dr. Aviv Livnat is an artist, Jazz musician and a lecturer at the Bezalel Art Academy and Tel Aviv University and NYU TA where he is also the curator of the NYUTA Core Collection of Contemporary Art. His areas of interest lie in the history and philosophy of the arts, East European Jewish history, Yiddish culture and the Avant-garde. Aviv is also a social activist; he established and heads the Raz-Ram Foundation, a special art foundation operating in diverse artistic fields among Arab, Druze, Bedouin and Jewish children and communities. He is the director of the Korczak Academic Forum and is engaged in the development of research, reform and revival activities both within and beyond the boundaries of academia.

Dr. Edan Raviv is the assistant director for academics at NYU Tel Aviv. In this role, Edan is responsible for ensuring that NYU’s academic curriculum, policies and learning standards are implemented locally. Edan holds a Ph.D. in political science from Tel Aviv University, a master’s in politics from New York University, and a bachelor’s degree in global and international studies from UC Santa Barbara. His intellectual interests include comparative political systems, political ideology, radicalism, extremism, political philosophy, political entrepreneurship, and social innovation. In addition, Edan is engaged in the development of research, reform and revival activities both within and beyond the boundaries of academia.

Dr. Arnon Palty is a senior lecturer at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance in Israel. His areas of expertise include jazz and traditional harmony, counterpoint, advanced ear Training, jazz composition and arranging, leading various ensembles and a variety of survey seminars concerning the music of Charles Mingus, jazz’s correlation with impressionism, the music of Horace Silver, Wayne Shorter, Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk, among many others.

Jazz Guitarist Dan Adler (danadler.com) has been active on the New York jazz scene since his arrival from Israel in 1986. Holding degrees in Engineering from the Technion and Rutgers University, Dan splits his time between the world of software development and jazz music. He has played and recorded with Steve Grossman, Bob Berg, Grant Stewart, Joey DeFrancesco, Donald Vega and others. His albums “All Things Familiar”, “Back To The Bridge” and “Friends On The Moon” were highly acclaimed.

David Liebman is considered a renaissance man in contemporary music with a career stretching over fifty years. He has played with masters including Miles Davis, Elvin Jones, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, McCoy Tyner and others; authored books and instructional DVDs which are acknowledged as classics in the jazz field; recorded as a leader in styles ranging from classical to rock to free jazz. He has performed on over 500 recordings with over 200 as a leader/co-leader featuring several hundred original compositions. International recognitions and awards include:

HONORARY DOCTORATE FOR JAZZ- SIBELIUS ACADEMY, HELSINKI, FINLAND (’97)

ORDER OF ARTS AND LETTERS – PARIS, FRANCE (’09)

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT OF THE ARTS (NEA) JAZZ MASTER-HIGHEST HONOR IN JAZZ FROM U.S. GOVERNMENT (’11)

“Liebman is among the most important saxophonists in contemporary music . . .     a leader and artist of integrity and independent direction.” Downbeat Magazine

“While others of his ‘60s generation have fallen off their ambition, Liebman has remained dogged about composition and trying different styles…he’s a fighter.” Ben Ratliff, NY Times

“The confidence that Dave Liebman shows in the chemistry of his musicians is justified and each hearing reveals new facets of these musical gems.” Ken Dryden, NYC Jazz Record

Liebman is currently teaching at New York University and guest lecturing at Berklee College of Music.

Dave Schroeder, B.M.E. University of Northern Iowa, M.M. New England Conservatory, D.A., New York University is Chair of the Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions at NYU Steinhardt. He is a jazz musician, historian and author of the book From The Minds of Jazz Musicians: Conversations with the Creative and Inspired. As the former Director of Jazz Studies at MPAP over the past sixteen-years, he developed an interactive musical environment between his students and artist/faculty, taking advantage of NYU’s proximity to legendary jazz venues and other music industry opportunities throughout NYC. Schroeder is also the creator and host of the NYU Jazz Interview Series on YouTube that has over one-million followers.

As a performer, Schroeder is the artistic director for Combo Nuvo, the NYU Jazz Faculty-in-Residence Ensemble performing alongside such jazz artists as Lenny Pickett, Tom Scott, Billy Drewes, Lenny White, Lou Marini, Paul McCandless, Rich Shemaria, Brad Shepik, Mike Richmond, and  John Hadfield. The group appears regularly at landmark NYC music venues including the Blue Note Jazz Club and Jazz at Lincoln Center and has been featured with the Costa Rica National Symphony, The United Arab Emirates Philharmonic in Abu Dhabi and in Ulaanbaatar with the Morin Khuur Ensemble; the National Symphony of Mongolia.

 Schroeder’s interest in combining the power of music with social and political change issues is demonstrated in his project One World Suite. Along with his faculty and student group Combo Nuvo, One World Suite + 500 Harmonicas has been performed frequently at climate change events in Washington D.C. as well as for the United Nation’s International Day of Peace in Washington Square Park. The grand finale of the suite includes Schroeder’s composition The Oceans where every audience member is given harmonica to play along with the group to reinforce that everyone has a voice on our planet and by combining our voices, through music, we can create a unified positive message for solving climate issues.

https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/people/dave-schroeder