Last week, a large crowd gathered to celebrate the late Yehuda Yannay (Professor Emeritus, Music) with a memorial concert presented by UWM Chamber Music Milwaukee.
Professor Bernard Zinck (Associate Professor, Violin; Area Head, Strings and String Pedagogy), the series director, curated a concert featuring five selections of Yannay’s chamber music that highlighted the quirkiness and adventurous creativity that persisted throughout his career.
“What I treasure most about Yehuda was the last two years of his life,” said Jill Sebastian, a Professor Emerita at Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design. “What does it mean to be a creative person to the last days of your life? That was Yehuda… He was grateful for every moment.”
Five musicians performed four chamber and one solo works during the two-hour concert. Those individuals were Professor Greg Flint (horn), Ravenna Helson (cello), Stefanie Jacob (piano), Stas Venglevski (bayan), and Professor Bernard Zinck (violin).
In 1970, Yannay joined the music theory and composition faculty at UWM and served as a Professor of Music until 2005 when he retired. Yannay passed away in December 2023 at the age of 86, following a brief illness.
His legacy continues at UWM as he generously endowed a scholarship to Peck School of the Arts. The Yannay Scholarship Fund is awarded to undergraduate or graduate students pursuing a music composition degree program.
“I cannot tell you how grateful I am to have known Yehuda as a colleague, a friend, and now as a philanthropist,” said Kevin Hartman (Interim Dean, College of Arts & Architecture; Professor, Trumpet). “I’m grateful for Yehuda, his life, and his music.”
The celebration of life began with a 2020 short documentary titled “Yehuda Composed” directed by Daniel Boville (BFA 2011, Film). The film features Yannay’s music and archival footage to showcase his creative process and passion. “Yehuda Composed” also reflected on Yannay’s tenure as an educator, displaying his love for working with his students.
“If I am not learning something from the students, I consider this an absolute failure,” said Yannay in the film.
Four individuals gave speeches reflecting on Yannay’s life. Those individuals were Jon Welstead, Kevin Hartman, Jill Sebastian, and Marie Mellott.
To read more about Yannay’s life and achievements, visit his website.
To watch Boville’s 2020 short documentary “Yehuda Composed,” visit his YouTube channel.
Story by Jason McCullum ’25