Paul Eugene Lustig Dunkel (July 22, 1943 – January 14, 2018) was an American flutist and conductor. From 1983 to 2008, he served as music director of the Westchester Philharmonic.

Dunkel was born on July 22, 1943 in New York City, where he also spent his early years. His mother, Johanna Lustig, was a pianist from Vienna, Austria and his father Eugene Borisovich Dunkel was a scenic designer born in Russia.

Dunkel attended The High School of Music & Art in New York City. He studied flute with Robert DiDomenica and William Kincaid, and piano with Lothar Epstein and Anka Bernstein-Landau. In 1966, Dunkel took the silver medal at the Birmingham (England) International Woodwind Festival; James Galway took the gold.

As music director of the Westchester Philharmonic, Dunkel developed a reputation for presenting new works and promoting new artists. In honor of his 15th year with the orchestra, a composition by Melinda Wagner was commissioned. Concerto for Flute, Strings, and Percussion was subsequently awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1999.

In 2006, Dunkel announced he would retire from the Philharmonic after his 25th anniversary season. In November 2007, the orchestra announced acclaimed violinist Itzhak Perlman would succeed Dunkel as artistic director and principal conductor.
Dunkel was the principal flute for the New York City Ballet.

Paul Lustig Dunkel passed away on January 14, 2018. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.