Composer/Conductor/
Scholar in Residence
Transforming Music into Meaningful Experience
I offer scholar-in-residence programs that bring communities into a deeper relationship with music, history, and meaning. Through a combination of performance, storytelling, and education, I design immersive experiences where music is not only heard, but understood, felt, and explored. Each residency is tailored to the unique identity and needs of your community.
Featured Residency Programs
A Signature Experience: Music + Meaning
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At the heart of every residency is a featured concert or service built around my original compositions, including those performed at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. This experience would ideally include your choir.
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What makes these experiences unique is the opportunity to go beyond performance. Together, we explore:
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The stories, texts, and history behind the music
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The creative process and artistic choices
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The emotional and spiritual themes embedded in each work
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This transforms a concert or service into a shared journey, one that invites reflection, conversation, and deeper connection.
Featured Work: Through Children’s Eyes
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A central component of my residencies is an exclusive screening of Through Children’s Eyes, the documentary capturing a once-in-a-lifetime concert setting the children's poetry of Terezin to music. The 45 minute film, directed by two-time Academy Award nominated cinematographer Phedon Papamichael was filmed on location in Terezin inside the Attic Theatre, the very location where music and theatrical performances by the inmates happened during the war.
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This powerful work serves as an anchor for the residency, offering communities a way to engage deeply with:
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The voices and experiences of children during the Holocaust
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The role of music in preserving memory and identity
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Questions of resilience, creativity, and human expression in the face of unimaginable circumstances
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The documentary can be presented as a exclusive screening event, and is often paired with teaching and discussion, creating a meaningful, multi-layered experience for your community.
What communities are saying...
"His work with the choirs was superb—insightful, helpful, and uplifting—and his stories about the creation of the music, which he shared with them in rehearsal and then at the concert, were deeply meaningful and heartfelt."
Dr. John Stefano, Vice President for Membership, Guild of Temple Musicians
Cantorial Soloist, Congregation Beth Tikvah, Worthington, Ohio
"What a splendid and heart-warming opportunity it was to meet with and sing under the direction of David Shukiar. As a long-time member of our Temple choir, The Shironim, we have sung a number of his pieces over the years. But meeting him, learning about his process and understanding his approach to writing this powerful music took me to a higher spiritual level. Days later, I am still floating on a cloud and my very soul is uplifted.”
​Anonymous Choir Member, Congregation Beth Tikvah, Worthington, Ohio
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"With the presentation of Through Children’s Eyes, David brought a deeply moving Yom HaShoah experience to Bet Shira Congregation in Miami. The film’s artistry—its visuals, music, performances, and narrative—is compelling, humble, and profoundly authentic."
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"David’s thoughtful collaboration with our clergy, congregants, and staff, along with his clear and timely communication regarding logistics and travel, ensured a seamless and memorable evening."
Dr. Alan Mason, Director of Music
Bet Shira Congregation, Miami, Florida​​​
What a Residency Can Include
Each residency is fully customizable, and can be designed to fit your community’s goals and schedule. Programming may include:
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Concert or Shabbat service featuring original compositions
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Guided exploration of the meaning and themes behind the music
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Screening of Through Children’s Eyes with discussion and Q&A
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Adult learning sessions connecting music with text, history, and how it can inform our contemporary life
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Workshops and rehearsal with choirs and/or instrumentalists, focusing on creativity, interpretation, and musical engagement
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Community conversations that foster reflection and dialogue
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Whether a day, a weekend or a longer residency, each element is designed to work together as a cohesive and meaningful experience.
A Collaborative, Community-Centered Approach
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Every residency begins with conversation.
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I work closely with clergy, educators, and community leaders to understand your goals and shape a program that resonates deeply with your audience. The result is not a one-size-fits-all program, but a thoughtfully crafted experience that reflects your community’s values and interests.
Adult Learning
From 7th Grade to Auschwitz,
A Journey from Denial to Bearing Witness
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In 7th grade, I received a flyer claiming the Holocaust was a hoax. That moment began a long search for truth that ultimately led me to visit concentration and death camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Majdanek and Terezin. Through photos and personal reflection, this presentation follows my path from encountering denial to walking the death camps themselves, retracing the final steps of Sophia and Hermi van Hasselt, my daughter’s Holocaust “twins.”
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This class explores how misinformation takes hold, how truth confronts us, and why remembering remains essential.
Whispers from Terezin,
The Children and the Words they Left Behind
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Explore the haunting, yet hopeful poetry used in the film Through Children’s Eyes in this text-based class that uncovers the deeper meanings woven into the words of the children of Terezin. Together, we’ll experience their poetry and examine how these texts, through video musical examples, inspired and shaped the music composed for the film, revealing the powerful dialogue between their voices and today’s artistic expression.
Previous and Future Residencies Include
Temple Etz Hayim, Derry, New Hampshire, April 2025
Temple Adat Elohim, Thousand Oaks, California, November 2025
Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, January 2026
Temple Shalom of Central Florida, Oxford, Florida, April 2026
Bet Shira Congregation, Miami, Florida, April 2026
Temple Beth El Boca, Boca Raton, Florida, April 2026
Jewish Together Temecula Valley, Temecula, California, October 2026
Main Line Reform Temple, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 2027
Temple Sinai, Atlanta, Georgia, April 2028
Dor Tamid, Atlanta, Georgia, April 2028
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Bring This Experience to Your Community
These residencies are designed to create lasting impact, where music becomes a gateway to memory, learning, and connection.
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If you’re interested in bringing a scholar-in-residence program to your community, I would welcome the opportunity to collaborate.
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