UFT Admin
- Retired music teacher
Lewis “Lew” Traver was a guitarist, arranger, composer and musicologist who devoted two decades to sharing his passion for music with New York City public school students. He died on Dec. 20, 2025, from heart disease at the age of 80.
Lew grew up in Westchester County just outside New York City and earned bachelor’s degrees from Villanova University and the New England Conservatory of Music as well as master’s degrees from Lehman College and the City College of New York. Over the course of a long career as a musician, he led his own band and performed with well-known artists, including The Chantels, The Isley Brothers, The Four Tops and Bo Diddley.
Lew, who retired in 2013, began teaching music in New York City public schools in the early 1990s, first at PS 31, where he served as a band director. There, he met his future wife, Olivia Williams, an actor who had become a teacher.
“Before we dated, I admired him professionally,” said Williams. “He was just tuned into the kids and very nurturing.”
“It was so clear that he loved what he did,” said Nancy Clark, who was the choral teacher at PS 31. “He loved the music, but he also cared about the kids. And kids pick up on that.”
Lew took student performances seriously, and his enthusiasm and skill brought out the best in his pupils. “If you heard them play, it was almost like we were in a nightclub in Havana,” Williams said.
Clark will always remember when Lew would ask her, “Ms. Clark, what time’s the hit?” before a school assembly. She realized he was asking about the start time. “It was like a gig for him!” she shared. “I thought that was great.”
Lew also taught at PS 207 in Manhattan for a short time before teaching at Frederick Douglass Academy, a middle school in Manhattan now known as PS 10, and then at Adlai E. Stevenson HS in the Bronx, where he became a full-time music teacher in 1998. He worked there until the school closed in 2009 and then taught at Gateway School for Environmental Research & Technology HS in the Bronx from 2009 until he retired in 2013.
Though his main instrument was the guitar, Lew taught students to play the clarinet, the drums, upright bass and more. He was well-versed in different genres and able to adapt songs to students’ skill levels and interests to keep them engaged. “He didn’t just stick to the classics, he did jazz, pop and reggae,” Williams noted.
Lew eventually obtained a master’s in educational leadership and pursued a principal’s license, but ultimately, he wanted to be in the classroom — and that’s where he stayed.
Many of his former students have continued playing music into adulthood. Some became professional musicians and several performed at his celebration of life event in New York. “They gave a lot of credit to having been his students,” said Clark. “His legacy will clearly live on.”
Outside of music, Lew was passionate about sports and humanitarian causes. “He was very sensitive to things, and he was very involved in politics and making the world a better place,” said Williams.
“He was just a really good guy,” Clark said. “A wonderful friend, colleague, musician and conversationalist.” She remained close friends with Lew and Williams long after they had all moved on from PS 31.
Lew was predeceased by his parents and his older brother Herbert Traver. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his children, sister-in-law, nieces and nephews, and many friends, colleagues and former students.
Condolences can be sent to:
Olivia Williams
10718 Acama St., Apt. 302
North Hollywood, CA 91602
