Gerald Sebesky
Biography
Gerald John Sebesky (b. 8 September 1941, Perth Amboy, N.J.) is an American composer, teacher and arranger.
He studied at the Manhattan School of Music (Bachelor of Music, 1962; Master of Music, 1963). He took further post-graduate studies at the University of Hawaii (1977-1978) and at Teachers College, Columbia University.
Sebesky has served as a music educator in several New Jersey schools. He began his teaching career as chairman and coordinator of music in the Piscataway Township Schools (1964-1969). He then served as band director at Carteret High School (1969-1970) and later assumed his current position as teacher of instrumental music, music theory, and American jazz in the Edison Township Schools. In addition, he has been an instructor at Middlesex County College.
He has written over 300 compositions and arrangements for band, chorus, stage band, strings, or childrens theater. He has served as a clinician and lecturer throughout the United States, Canada, and England, and performed as a trombonist with Newport Jazz Festival Band. Currently, he is a bassist with the New Jersey Arts Center.
Sebesky has written several pedagogical books for both band and orchestra. He holds memberships in numerous several organizations, including the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, the Music Educators National Conference, the American Federation of Musicians, the National Association of Jazz Educators, and the International Society of Music Education. He was winner of the Phi Mu Alpha Music Composition Award and the New Jersey Tercentenary State Song Award and has received numerous commissions. In 1981, he wrote several musical portions for the film Waiting for the Light.
Works for Winds
- Around the World With This Old Man
- Barn on Parade
- Barry Lyndon Theme
- Big Surprise, The
- Blues Bells of Scotland, The (Sebesky)
- Close Encounters for Clarinets
- Disco Kid, The
- Donkey Dance, The
- Drum and Bugle
- Duelling Drummer
- Duelling Drummers
- European Tour
- Fantasy and Fugue (2017)
- First Tango For Trumpet
- Fishy Scale Blues
- Funky See, Funky Do (1990)
- Happy Ending, The
- If You Knew Sousa Like I Know Sousa
- Irish Medley, An (Sebesky)
- Irish Medley, An
- King of Swing, The
- March Winds
- Meet Mr T
- Merrily We Rock and Roll
- New Orleans Jazz
- Passacaglia and Interlude
- Portrait in Blues
- Ragtime Dance
- Rumba-Rama
- Saturday Night Disco
- Saved By The Bell
- Scherzo Fantastique Excerpts (as arranger)
- Scherzo-Phrenia
- Soul Mates
- Soul-ar Powered Band
- Soulmates
- Still, Still, Still (as arranger) (2012)
- A Tribute to Elvis (as arranger)
- Trombonanza (1984/2009)
- Tropical Flutes
- Your Dreams Will Come True
Resources
- Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music. "Gerald Sebesky." Accessed 22 December 2014.