Tony Schoenfeld; a student of life

Michael Anthony Schoenfeld grew up in Kanab from the age of four, after starting life in Prescott, Ariz. He went to college in Cedar earning a degree in Mathematics, moved to Phoenix securing a job as a programmer. From there he went into software, met his wife, they moved to Cincinnati, to be closer to her family and back to programming. Then on to Indianapolis, Tony summarized, “Mainly I was a software engineer for 30 years, it was very high pressure. We would work 60-hour weeks, sometimes for up to three months. They were milestone oriented.”

“Writing whether playing one of my guitars or any instrument, you are communicating your thoughts, you are writing and telling a story.” Photo by Laurali Noteman.

But that is just Tony’s background, music is his passion, writing and being a lifelong student of life, is his lifestyle. He moved back to Kanab in 2014; after losing his wife, he needed time. With him he brought his amazing talents and mind. While getting reacquainted with Kanab, he started saying “yes” to invitations to participate or work.

He worked at Re-Creation Retreat for five years. One of his jobs truly put his talents to work, opening a new world for the students. One of his tasks was teaching choir. That introduced him to Symphony of the Canyons, and Kortney Stirland. Tony was able to write arrangements for the girls with music like Dream On by Aero Smith or Bohemian Rapsody by Queen, with the symphony behind them at Best Friends. The girls loved it; they were performing music they knew.

Tony plays six instruments: guitar, bass, violin, flute, piano and mandolin. One of his writing tools is a tape recorder. While driving, his mind starts visualizing scenes which he expresses verbally. As his thought process kicks in, he talks voice to text. Sometimes he will have 30 pages of texts to transcribe but out of those transcriptions comes stories, songs and imagery. “My mind has lots of room to walk around in. It’s like a whole other universe in there. Driving allows me to get in the zone.”

He also became the president of the Arts Council, was a substitute teacher in Fredonia, President of the Symphony Board, Liz Adair asked him to help establish the Writer’s Conference, “and now I’m just in two Cover Bands, the Chris Paul Band, they play classic rock but don’t write their own material and Zero-To-Sixty, they play music from the 50s and 60s. That’s my life anymore, guitar and writing. It’s a good retirement.”

Tony uses imagery to teach individuals. “You find out about the person you’ re trying to help. Where they are and how they see things. You know what you’re trying to get them to see. So, you create bridges between what they know and where you want them to get too. They put the new information together to build their own bridge.”

Tony also studies languages. He explained how words change from the intended meaning, so frequently the original meanings are lost. By finding the derivative, tracing it back to the true meaning or intent of the word from its Greek origins. Currently he is studying the seven stages of Alchemy. His mind likes to learn and store information, it’s amazing.