Maya Shenfeld is a Jerusalem-born composer and musician based in Berlin, Germany.

Early life and education

Shenfeld was born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and began her musical training there. When she was 20 years old, she had completed her first degree in classical guitar in the

Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance ( he, האקדמיה למוסיקה ולמחול בירושלים), is a school for the music and the performing arts in Jerusalem. It is located on the Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusa ...

. After moving to Berlin, she studied contemporary music performance and composition at the

Berlin University of the Arts The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universiti ...

(UDK).

Music

Shenfeld's work explores electronic, popular and experimental music and their intersection. Writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', music journalist John Lewis described her work as "invoking the transcendent", writing that it is "music that uses 21st-century technology to conjure up images of liturgical chants and ancient temples". Her album ''In Free Fall'' (

Thrill Jockey Thrill Jockey is an American independent record label established by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards and based in Chicago. History Richards started the label in 1992 with $35,000 of family and personal capital, while ...

, 2022) was number one on ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

s "10 Best Experimental Albums Of 2022". In 2022 Shenfeld scored two short films, Piazza Futura by Kevin b. Lee (premierd on the Locarno Film Festival) and the

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

awards winning documentary ''

The Flagmakers ''The Flagmakers'' is a 2022 documentary film about the workers of employee-owned American flag manufacturer Eder Flag who manufacture American flags and flagpoles. The film focuses on the factory's diverse workforce, including locals, immigrant ...

'' by

Cynthia Wade Cynthia Wade is an American television, commercial and film director, producer and cinematographer based in New York City. She has directed documentaries on social issues including '' Shelter Dogs'' in 2003 about animal welfare and ''Freeheld'' i ...

and

Sharon Liese Sharon Liese is an American producer, director, and screenwriter. She created the true crime series '' Pink Collar Crimes'' and developed the show with Jon Kroll at CBS Studios. They planned to shop it out to various networks; however, CBS purchas ...

, which was also shortlisted for an Academy award. Shenfeld has previously written music for EMI’s production music library which is synced internationally on documentaries, drama, and radio.

Discography

Studio albums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shenfeld, Maya Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Composers from Jerusalem Israeli women composers 21st-century Israeli composers 21st-century guitarists Israeli guitarists Israeli women guitarists 21st-century Israeli women artists Musicians from Jerusalem