Friday, August 9, 2019 — 5:30pm
Music of Couperin, Vierne, Messiaen, and Struber

Bernard Struber lives in Strasbourg, France. He began studying music when he was nine years old. As a teenager, he displayed his musical range, performing regularly as a rock guitarist, a jazz pianist, and performing classical and liturgical pieces on pipe organ each Sunday. Mr. Struber’s range in instruments, style and repertoire, is part of his lifelong pursuit to enrich his musical life and achievements through the influence of multiple schools and cultures in music from around the world.

At the age of sixteen, Mr. Struber entered the Conservatory of Strasbourg, where he received several prizes for his mastery of the pipe organ. Not limited to one instrument, nor one style in music, he created the Department of Jazz and Improvisation at the Conservatory of Strasbourg in 1979. In 1987, Mr. Struber was instrumental in the creation of the Regional Jazz Orchestra in Alsace, now, “Struber’s Jazztett”.  The Jazztett has premiered over 200 original compositions and arrangements and has played worldwide in major festivals in Paris, Vienne, Amsterdam, Washington, Berlin, and Odessa. Having also premiered compositions of contemporary music by Franco Donatoni, music for the Ballets de l’Opera du Rhin, and an original Jazz-Oratorio at the Strasbourg Cathedral, the Jazztet has many recordings in its long history. All show a range of interests and influences, including reflections on traditional music from Africa and Turkey (“The Flavours of Memory”), a recording influenced by rock music (“Parfum de Récidive”), and another recording inspired by 16th Century composer, Louise Labbé (“Soul Songs et Louise”). Recent original compositions by Mr. Struber include “Symphonie Déjouée”, recorded in May 2017, and “Fly to Hope”, a suite of seven preludes of improvisation based on polyrythmic questions and new Chinese modes, which premiered in April of this year.

An experienced teacher, Professor Struber published two original music learning methods in 2004 and 2011 by Editions Lemoine / Paris, “Musiques en Jeux” and “Musiques en Atelier”, respectively.

In 2004 he was rewarded, for his original work the “Golden Django”, the Grand Prix of Creation from the Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music. Professor Struber teaches orchestration and composition at HEAR, Music Academy, the University of Strasbourg, France.

Struber is a classical organist at ease with Bach, Liszt, Franck, Messiaen. He studied organ with Pierre Vidal, professor at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg, student of Marcel Dupré and is the author of books on the performance of Bach. He completed his organ studies with several awards, including the National Prize in 1976, with a jury composed, among others, of Xavier Darasse and Jean Langlais. His concerts have given him the opportunity to play the organs of his region, as well as Paris, nearby Germany, Odessa, and Syracuse, to name a few.