David K. Israel is an American composer born in Philadelphia in 1967, whose work spans concert music, ballet, and digital media. He is perhaps best known in the dance world for his collaboration with choreographer Silas Farley on Architects of Time, which premiered on May 5, 2022, at the David H. Koch Theater as the centerpiece of the New York City Ballet’s 2022 Stravinsky Festival. Beyond composition, Israel has written for publications including The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, and founded Twaggies, a crowdsourced webcomic venture. His career has drawn praise from figures as prominent as Rudolf Nureyev.
Key facts
- Born: 1967
- Birthplace: Philadelphia
- Country: United States
- Occupation: composer
Architects of Time
The centerpiece of the New York City Ballet’s 2022 Stravinsky Festival, Architects of Time was created in collaboration with choreographer Silas Farley and premiered on May 5, 2022, at the David H. Koch Theater. It was the sole commission created for that festival, which itself marked the 50th anniversary of the company’s legendary 1972 Stravinsky Festival.
Israel built the score around a 1946 musical exchange between George Balanchine and Igor Stravinsky. In that exchange, Balanchine wrote an acrostic poem in Russian as a birthday gift for Stravinsky and set it to a simple melody. Israel drew on this material as the compositional foundation for the piece.
The title came from a remark Israel and Farley encountered in the documentary In Balanchine’s Classroom, where Balanchine said: ‘Composer is architect of time, and we have to dance to it.’ That phrase gave the work both its name and its conceptual frame.
Writing and other ventures
Israel’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Il Giornale, and Heeb Magazine. His essays and articles have covered a range of subjects, reflecting an engagement with culture that runs alongside his compositional work.
He also founded and served as CEO of Twaggies, a crowdsourced webcomic that turned humorous tweets into illustrated comic panels, bringing a collaborative digital sensibility to a medium far removed from concert halls.
Collaborations and recognition
Rudolf Nureyev praised Israel’s music to multiple artistic directors, saying he believed it could embellish the contemporary musical canon of ballet. That kind of advocacy from one of the twentieth century’s most celebrated dancers speaks to the impression Israel’s work made on the ballet world.
His collaboration with Twyla Tharp on Falling Bodies produced at least one memorable story: the two sketched out the final six minutes of the piece on a tablecloth during dinner. Israel kept an image of that tablecloth as a keepsake.
Did you know
- Rudolf Nureyev praised Israel’s music so highly that he recommended it to multiple artistic directors, saying he thought it “could embellish the contemporary musical canon of ballet.” (dancermusic.com)
- Israel and Twyla Tharp sketched out the final six minutes of their collaborative work Falling Bodies on a tablecloth during dinner, an image Israel kept as a keepsake. (dancermusic.com)
- The title Architects of Time comes from a quote the collaborators heard in the documentary In Balanchine’s Classroom, in which Balanchine said: “Composer is architect of time, and we have to dance to it.” (nycballet.com)
- Architects of Time was the sole commission created for the New York City Ballet’s 2022 Stravinsky Festival, which marked the 50th anniversary of the company’s legendary 1972 Stravinsky Festival. (playbill.com)
Data sources
Data updated: 2026-10-30