Barry Seroff was born in Flushing, Queens on July 4th 1978. He earned his Bachelorís Degree at the Aaron Copland School of Music where he studied theory with Joe Strauss, composition with Paul Alan Levi, Jeff Nichols, and Bruce Saylor, and musicology with Henry Burnett. At the same time outside of school, he studied classical flute with Michael Laderman and Petina Cole, modern and traditional jazz guitar with Joe Giglio and Bern Nix, and shakuhachi with Ronnie Nyogetsu Seldin.

Improvised music developed into one of his deepest musical passions through regular performances with musicians including William Parker, Anthony Braxton, Marc Ribot, Daniel Carter, Merry Fortune, and Ken Schalk, among others. It was in this setting that his musical voice matured, leading to the release of the critically acclaimed 27 New York Antisonnetsí with Little Rickyís House of Chankletas and A Path Toward Solace with pianist Stefan Paolini, both on OKS Recordings of North America. Between 2008 and 2010, he ran an improvised music podcast, featuring a wide variety of top notch musicians from NYC to New Haven. Currently he is an active musician playing flute in the progressive rock band Edensong, the groundbreaking indie rock band New Beard, and New Music collective Anti-Social Music.

Aside from being an accomplished musician, Seroff has also earned high accolades as a composer. His compositions range from traditional chamber ensembles and orchestras to more modern settings featuring electric guitar and drumset. His collaborations with poet Merry Fortune were performed at St. Marks Church, and eventually led to recordings with legendary guitarist Marc Ribot. He is also the winner of the Hubert Sukoff Award for Composition in 2006 as well as the 2009 AMC Composers Assistance grant. His works have been premiered by the International Contemporary Ensemble, Second Instrumental Unit, New Haven Improvisers Collective, ThingNY and Anti-Social Music, and recorded by the Juventas New Music Ensemble for the release SCULPTING THE AIR on Navona Records (rel. June 2011).

He received his Masterís in composition at Queens College and continues to perform in and around New York and the United States. 

Albums

Democracy

Release Date: June 4, 2013
Catalog Number: RR7874
21st Century
Chamber
Vocal Music
Flute
Guitar
Voice
Composed in the wake of 9/11, Barry Seroff's Democracy is a multifaceted, genre-spanning examination of the spiritual and philosophical roots of American thought. Calling on texts from Quaker preachers, American poets, Japanese haiku, and Nietzsche, Seroff forms a flowing narrative charting our cultural development from the innocence and purity of infancy through the growing awareness of adolescence and adulthood, to our ultimate peacemaking with the joy of childhood. Seroff draws influences including classicism, jazz, hardcore punk and more and stitches the seemingly disparate elements of inspiration and source materials into an organic, evolving piece that seeks to explain the intricacies and history of American culture.

Explore other albums featuring Barry Seroff

Sculpting the Air

Sculpting the Air

Navona Records