Naftali Schindler is a graduate of the Master of Musical Arts program at the Yale School of Music where he studied with Aaron Jay Kernis, Martin Bresnick, Ezra Laderman, and David Lang.
Naftali studied composition and music theory at Boston University, graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Music degree. His teachers at BU included Martin Amlin and Theodore Antoniou. He presented his work in master-classes given by Lukas Foss, Samuel Adler, and David Liptak, among others.
Naftali's music has been performed internationally, including performances by Alea III, Yale Philharmonia, Pykka Quintet, and the BU Symphony Orchestra (who included his Petrarch Sonnets on the 2006 honors concert) and at venues such as Bang on a Can Festival, Woolsey Hall and the Felicja Blumenthal Center in Tel Aviv. He has been commissioned by Alea III, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and Steve Parker, among others. He is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda and Eliezer Society, and is a recipient of the John Day Jackson and the Rena Greenwald Memorial Prizes. Naftali is also an aspiring throat-singer in the Tuvan manner.