Serebrier, José

Serebrier, José, Uruguayan-American conductor and composer; b. Montevideo, Dec. 3, 1938. He began to conduct at the age of 12. He went to the U.S. in 1950 and studied composition with Giannini at the Curtis hist, of Music in Philadelphia (1956–58) and conducting with Dorati in Minneapolis; also took conducting lessons with Monteux at his summer residence in Maine. He subsequently conducted guest engagements in the U.S., South America, and Europe; gave the first performance in Poland of the fourth Sym. of Charles Ives. He was assoc. conductor of the American Sym. Orch. in N.Y. (1962–67), composer-in-residence of the Cleveland Orch. (1968–70), and music director of the Cleveland Phil. (1968–71). He was principal guest conductor of the Adelaide Sym. Orch. (from 1982); was founder and artistic director of the International Festival of the Americas (1984). In 1969 he married Carole Ann Farley .

Works

Quartet for Saxophones (1955); Pequeña música for Wind Quintet (1955); Sym. No. 1 (1956); Momento psicologico for String Orch. (1957); Suite canina for Wind Trio (1957); Sym. for Percussion (1960); The Star Wagon for Chamber Orch. (1967); Nueve for Double Bass and Orch. (1970); Colores m´gicos, variations for Harp and Chamber Orch., with “Synchrona” images (Washington, D.C., May 20, 1971); Preludio fantastico y danza magica for 5 Percussion (1973); Violin Concerto (1992); band music.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire