Steven R Gerber

Steven Gerber's (b. 1948) most recent composition, a 16-minute orchestral work entitled "Music in Dark Times," was written at the request of Vladimir Ashkenazy, who will conduct the four world premiere performances with the San Francisco Symphony in March, 2009. Other recent works of Gerber's include String Quartets # 4 and 5 for, respectively, the Fine Arts and Amernet String Quartets; a Viola Concerto for Yuri Bashmet, a Cello Concerto for Carter Brey, a Violin Concerto for Kurt Nikkanen, and a Clarinet Concerto for Jon Manasse; and two symphonies, the second for Daniel Boico, which have received numerous performances in the United States, Russia, Ukraine, and Romania.

His works have been performed by the Louisville Orchestra, Omaha Philharmonic, Long Island Philharmonic, Philharmonia Virtuosi, National Philharmonic, National Chamber Orchestra, Knoxville Chamber Orchestra, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Wheeling (West Virginia) Symphony, Russian National Orchestra, St. Petersburg State Academic Symphony, and Chamber Orchestra Kremlin, among others. Three CDs of his orchestral works are available on the Chandos, KOCH International, and Arabesque labels, and a CD of his solo and chamber music, all featuring violinist Kurt Nikkanen, will be released towards the end of the year. Gerber was born in 1948 in Washington, D.C. and received a B.A. from Haverford College and an M.F.A. from Princeton University. His composition teachers included Robert Parris, Milton Babbitt, Earl Kim, and J.K. Randall.