Yoni Fogelman’s upbringing as a choral singer developed a love for melodies that could not be fully satisfied until he crafted his own. What started as a passion for vocal writing gradually branched out to include instrumental music, and now Yoni actively composes for a wide variety of instruments and genres.

The great joy of Yoni’s young adult life has been learning to write different styles of music so that he is prepared to express any emotion or tell any story. This journey has brought Yoni in contact with a wide variety of musical mentors from backgrounds in classical, jazz, and film music, and each experience has influenced his musical tastes and adds another color to his personal musical palette.

In the classical sphere, Yoni has dedicated much of his time to studying and writing music for instrumental and choral ensembles, ranging from SATB choirs, vocal quartets, youth orchestras, string ensembles, wind quintets, solo instruments, and other large and chamber-sized groups. Yoni currently focuses on these styles as an undergraduate student at UCLA, where he studies music composition with Ian Krouse and Richard Danielpour. In addition, Yoni has been lucky to participate in a variety of fellowships to hone in his musical skills. Notable fellowships include the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s (LA Phil) Composer Fellowship Program, the Pasadena Chorale’s Listening to the Future program, and the l’Dor va’Dor Young Composers Academy (in which Yoni is a current member). In 2020-21, Yoni was the inaugural Steven Stucky Composer Fellow with the LA Phil, granting him an opportunity to compose a new piece of music for the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (YOLA), which was premiered under Gustavo Dudamel at the grand opening of the new Beckman YOLA Center in Inglewood, CA. Most recently, Yoni won the Spectrum Chamber Music Composition Competition for his wind quintet “A Selection of Pets,” which will be premiered by members of the Fort Worth Symphony in April, 2023.

Yoni’s biggest accomplishment in the classical field to date is the release of his debut album “One By One,” a collection of music for string instruments. This was a collaboration between Yoni, Silent Zoo Studios (where Yoni worked as a studio runner and assistant engineer), and an ensemble of professional string players in Los Angeles.

While Yoni has been expanding his repertoire of classical works, he has been simultaneously studying big band arranging and composition with Hollywood orchestrator and jazz extraordinaire Ladd McIntosh. Yoni has shown promise in this area too, going on to win the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers’ (ASMAC) iJazz Music Big Band Arranging Competition with his original chart “Wisps of Gaviota.”

Finally, Yoni has shown promise in the world of film music as assistant for film composer Justin Schoernstein at Hidden Temple Music. Here, Yoni has been learning about the professional and musical skills necessary to be a film composer, which he has applied to scores for student films at the University of Southern California (USC) and advertisements for the jewelry company GoGirlUSA.

At 20 years old, Yoni is learning and writing constantly so that when someone asks him for new music, he can deliver, regardless of the instrumentation or genre. For Yoni, composition is an opportunity to learn more about himself and nurture a relationship with fellow artists and performers, and he is excited to continue on this journey for the rest of his life.