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Stanley Silverman was born in New York City and attended The High School of Performing Arts. He was, in fact, the model for Bruno in the film, Fame. His early influences included an encounter with comedian Jerry Lewis, who he met through his mother, a card playing cohort of Lewis' mother Rae. Silverman credits Lewis' influence for his sense of mischief, a trait that is prevalent in his musical personality to this day.

Early musical experience included a stint playing guitar with a western swing band and appearances at the Brussels World Fair with his college jazz quintet. Silverman studied with Leon Kirchner and Darius Milhaud. His graduate thesis, an opus 1, had the distinction of a premiere at the Kennedy White House.

After graduation he pursued a career as a concert guitarist performing frequently with The New York Philharmonic, The Boston Symphony, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and at festivals such as Marlboro and Ojai, working with Bernstein, Boulez, Foss, and Schuller before turning his attention to composing full time.

As a guitarist Silverman specialized in new music, performing and recording many premieres. As a composer he was part of a group of composer-performers led by Charles Wuorinen in New York.

Silverman taught at Tanglewood during the 1960s and in 1965 was appointed music director of The Lincoln Center Repertory Theater before joining Canada's Stratford Festival at the invitation of Glenn Gould. There he composed music for the Shakespeare plays working primarily with directors Michael Langham and John Hirsch. Major performances during this era included the Monday Evening Concerts, founded by Stravinsky in Los Angeles, and the ORTF radio (France Musique), Paris.

In 1968 Silverman began collaborating with playwright/director Richard Foreman resulting in several works of music-theatre.

During the 1980s Silverman enjoyed a brief and successful directing career. Recently, while devoting full time to composing, he became a consultant to Reveille TV, Electus, Propagate and NBC Specials. 

Major Influences include Henry Purcell, Arnold Schoenberg, Django Reinhardt, Rodgers and Hart, and Cuban charanga. Read More...