Herbert Deutsch

Herbert Deutsch was a composer, author, educator, and performer, and was Professor of Music at Hofstra University for 57 years. He is a composer of music in various media and his work has been widely performed, and commissioned works have been featured at national and regional conferences. In 1972, Deutsch co-founded the Long Island Composers Alliance. During his career at Hofstra, he founded Jazz Ensemble, Electronic Music Studios, New Music Ensemble, and created the B.S. Degree programs in Jazz, Composition/Theory and Music Business. He received the George Estabrook Distinguished Alumni Award in 1996 and the Hofstra Alumni Achievement Award in 2001. The Music Department has established the Herbert Deutsch Award for highest honors in Music Education.

In 1964, Deutsch collaborated with Robert A. Moog on the development of the Moog Synthesizer and, in September of 1965, his “New York Improvisation Quartet” presented the Moog’s first live program at Town Hall in New York City. He is a member and judge of The NY State School Music Association’s Composition and Improvisation Committee and a clinician in composition sessions at New York’s All-State Conference.

From the year 2000 through his passing in 2022, Deutsch has focused most of his composition work on pieces for chamber ensembles. In this period, he’s composed for his wife Nancy, and for many personal friends and locations which have been important to Deutsch.