David Joseph Koenig

David Koenig was born in Boston, grew up in Ann Arbor, and lived for the past 10 years in New York City, where he took his own life on January 17, 2019 at age 33. He was creative, thoughtful, funny, and too kind for words. David’s extraordinary musicianship developed through his youngest years at home, the Community High School (Ann Arbor) improvisational jazz program, and the Brooklyn College MFA Program in Sonic Arts. His longstanding love of composition and performance with his bandmate Abe Morrison pushed the bounds of listening and thought. He was deeply intellectual, and loved reading and discussing the most esoteric of subjects. His knowledge base defied categorization. David was a unique and out-of-the-box individual, impossible to capture in this brief memorial tribute. He loved his family and friends with all his heart and had an indescribable warmth. He leaves behind many who loved him so very deeply in return, including his parents Ronald and Rosalie Koenig, sister and brother-in-law Sara and John McLaughlin and their children Henry and Elisa, and his very dearest friends and soulmates. Being with David, knowing him, even just thinking of him, brightened everyone’s day. He made the world a better place. It is David’s wish that donations in his honor be made to Human Rights Watch.