Name: Jay Vilnai

I’m from… Jerusalem

I started teaching music in… 2002

I started teaching at the Conservatory in… 2014

My inspiration: In music, the gamut runs from Brahms to Bartók to Bowie. Otherwise, writers such as Shakespeare, Rilke, and Lydia Davis are constantly on my mind as I go through my day.

Few people know that I… also teach language, and use many of the same techniques as I do in music.

Education: The New School – BFA, Jazz Performance
CUNY Brooklyn College – MM, Composition

I play and teach: Guitar, composition, theory

My other artistic/musical endeavors: I mostly write music for other performers.