John Serry Jr.

At 70 years old, John Serry Jr. physical status not available right now. We will update John Serry Jr.'s height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.

Serry began his musical education at the age four on the accordion under the instruction of his father John Serry, a noted concert accordionist and organist. These studies continued until the age of eleven, when he elected to concentrate on the piano and drums. In his teens, Serry studied percussion with Juilliard instructor Gordon Gottlieb and performed the Darius Milhaud Percussion and Paul Creston Marimba Concertos, the latter on a European tour with the Long Island Youth Orchestra (Summer 1973). In 1975, while a student at the Eastman School of Music, Serry was awarded Best Pianist, Best Composer-Arranger (Combo) and, as part of the group Auracle (then called Inner Vision), Best Combo in the 1975 Notre Dame Jazz Festival. The judges were Sonny Rollins and Jack DeJohnette, among others. Auracle was later signed to Chrysalis Records and recorded 'Glider' (1978) on which Serry played piano and keyboards and for which he composed four of the compositions. The album was co-produced by Miles Davis' producer, Teo Macero, and the group performed at the 1978 Montreux Jazz Festival. In 1980, Serry's first published classical works were entered into the Studio 4 catalogue, including 'Conversations for Timpani Duo', 'Duet for Percussion and Keyboards' and later (1988), 'Therapy' (for multiple percussion soloist). 'Rhapsody for Marimba' ("Night Rhapsody") was published by Marimba Productions in 1980.

Academic career – I

From 1988 to 1991, Serry was Associate Professor of Music and Director of Jazz at the University of South Carolina, Columbia. While there, he instituted several new courses and revised the curriculum for the bachelor's and master's degrees with jazz emphasis. He also formed and conducted concerts of a jazz and studio orchestra, and produced semi-annual jazz festivals with guest artists, including Marian McPartland, Bill Watrous, Bob Sheppard and others. (Saxophonist Chris Potter, who was then a high school student, participated in the festival concerts and also played in Serry's quartet.)

Academic career – II

Academic career (as educator and in education): Serry has taught classes, ensembles, lessons, seminars and workshops at several schools of music. He coached percussion ensembles at Peabody Conservatory (1986, Jonathan Haas conductor) and at The Juilliard School (1988, Roland Kohloff, conductor) for performances of his composition, 'Intrusions'. He taught a workshop on his compositions at the Musicians Institute (Los Angeles, 1982). He completed two artist residencies at Wichita State University, one in 1985 in which he coached a student ensemble on his composition, 'Concerto for Percussion Brass and Percussion', and played a jazz concert as pianist/composer with Rufus Reid bass and Steve Houghton drums; the other in 1996 in which he gave a lecture on the music business and his jazz compositions, and taught jazz piano and jazz combo. In 1987, he coached the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater wind ensemble on his 'Concerto for Marimba and Wind Ensemble' and also gave a lecture on that composition. Serry taught classes in jazz theory, arranging, music electronics/MIDI, film scoring and jazz combo at University of South Carolina-Columbia (1988–91). From 1994 to 1996, he taught percussion at Jersey City State College. During the 1990s, he was a guest lecturer on the music business at CUNY (Manhattan) and Queens College, a substitute teacher (jazz improvisation) at NYU and coached the Brooklyn College percussion ensemble on 'Intrusions' (Morris Lang, conductor). In the UK, he taught a course in jazz combo at the Royal Academy in 2004/5 and gave a lecture on his jazz compositions at Cardiff University in 2005. In 2011/12, he taught a course in jazz improvisation at Music Academy 2000 in Bologna, Italy. Serry has BM (with Distinction) and MM degrees from the Eastman School of Music (Professors Bill Dobbins, Chuck Mangione, John Beck, and Rayburn Wright; lessons with Marian McPartland; workshops and concerts including playing drums with Keith Jarrett and piano with Joe Farrell and Bill Watrous).

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