Ermek Serkebayev (Kazakh: Ермек Бекмұхамедұлы Серкебаев; 4 July 1926 — 16 November 2013) was a Soviet and Kazakhstani chamber and opera baritone singer,^[1] actor, and educator. People’s Artist of the USSR (1959).^[2] A laureate of the USSR State Award (1977) and Kazakh SSR State Award (1972). Hero of Socialist Labor (1986).^[3]

Biography

Ermek Serkebayev was born in Petropavlovsk on July 4, 1926. His father Bekmukhamed Khusainovich Serkebayev was a Kazakh language teacher, editor of Kedei Sozi newspaper; he also wrote articles and scripts for Kazakh plays.^[4] Ermek’s mother Zylikha Sabirovna Serkebayeva was a primary school teacher, she had a sharp ear for music and a beautiful voice.^[5] Ermek was fond of music from an early age, and balalaika was the first instrument he learned to play.^[6]

When the family moved from Kokchetav to Alma-Ata in 1937,^[7] parents sent Ermek to Tchaikovsky Alma-Ata Music Academy to study violin.^[8] In 1951 he graduated from the singing course led by Kurganov, himself an alumnus of the Italian vocal school, at the Kurmangazy Kazakh Conservatoire.^[9] Ermek Serkebayev worked as an anchorman at Kazakhstan Radio and a soloist at the Abay Kazakh Opera and Ballet Theater.^[10]

Ermek Serkebayev also performed as a chamber and stage singer, singing Kazakh folk songs, compositions by Russian and foreign composers.^[11] He toured a lot and performed in over 50 countries, including Belgium, China, Cuba, Finland, France, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland.^[9][12] He repeatedly served on and chaired juries of renowned music competitions, including Tchaikovsky International Competition and Glinka International Music Competition.^[13]

In 1973 he started teaching singing at the Kazakh Conservatoire and became a professor in 1982.^[14]

Ermek Serkebayev had been the chairman of the Kazakhstani Republican Union of Musicians and a member of the Executive Committee of the International Union of Music Professionals (Moscow) since 1988. In his autumn years, he combined these roles with that of advisor to the President of Abay Kazakh State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater (where he also continued to perform as a singer).^[15]

Ermek Serkebayev died in Almaty on November 16, 2013.^[16]

Awards and honors

• Hero of Socialist Labor (1986);^[18]
• People’s Artist of the Kazakh SSR (1958);^[19]
• People’s Artist of the USSR (1959);^[20]
• 2 Orders of Lenin (one in 1986);
• Order of the October Revolution (1984);
• Order of Otan (1997).^[21]

Career

Legacy

• A memorial plaque was installed in the Almaty house where Ermek Serkebayev lived (at the intersection of Jeltoqsan and Bogenbay Batyr streets) in 2014;^[22]
• In June 2022 Chamber Hall of the Kazakh National Opera and Ballet Theater was named after People’s Artist of the USSR Ermek Serkebayev;^[23]
• A 30-meter tall mural of Ermek Serkebayev (designed by Aydar Munaitbasov) was painted in Astana in July 2022.^[24]

References