Ermek Serkebayev

Ermek Bekmukhameduly Serkebayev was a Soviet and Kazakhstani chamber and opera baritone singer, actor, and educator. Her received many awards including People's Artist of the USSR in 1959 and Hero of Socialist Labour in 1986.

Biography

Ermek Serkebayev was born in Petropavl on 4 July 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. Ermek's mother Zylikha Sabirovna Serkebayeva was a primary school teacher, she had a sharp ear for music and a beautiful voice. Ermek was fond of music from an early age, and balalaika was the first instrument he learned to play.
When the family moved from Kokchetav to Alma-Ata in 1937, parents sent Ermek to Tchaikovsky Alma-Ata Music Academy to study violin. In 1951 he graduated from the singing course led by Kurganov, himself an alumnus of the Italian vocal school, at the Kurmangazy Kazakh Conservatoire. Ermek Serkebayev worked as an anchorman at Kazakhstan Radio and a soloist at the Abay Kazakh Opera and Ballet Theater.
Ermek Serkebayev also performed as a chamber and stage singer, singing Kazakh folk songs, compositions by Russian and foreign composers. He toured a lot and performed in over 50 countries, including Belgium, China, Cuba, Finland, France, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland. He repeatedly served on and chaired juries of renowned music competitions, including Tchaikovsky International Competition and Glinka International Music Competition.
In 1973 he started teaching singing at the Kazakh Conservatoire and became a professor in 1982.
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 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.
Ermek Serkebayev died in Almaty on 16 November 2013.

Family

Serkebayev was married four times; his son of the first marriage, Baigali Serkebayev, became a well-known musician and leader of A-Studio, a popular band.
Alfia Baizhanova was Ermek's fourth and last wife.
Ermek's brother Murat and niece Jamilya Serkebayeva are other worthy successors of the Serkebayev musical dynasty.

Awards and honors

Career

Roles

Birzhan and Sara by Mukan Tulebayev – BirzhanAmangeldy by Mukan Tulebayev and Yevgeny Brusilovsky – Amangeldy

Abai by Akhmet Zhubanov and Latif Khamidi – Abay
Eugene Onegin by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Onegin
The Queen of Spades by Tchaikovsky – YeletskyIolanta by Tchaikovsky – Robert
Mazeppa by Tchaikovsky – MazepaThe Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini – FigaroThe Taming of the Shrew by Vissarion Shebalin – PetruchioDon Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Don GiovanniHalka by Stanisław Moniuszko – JanuszCarmen by Georges Bizet – EscamilloEr-Targyn by Yevgeny Brusilovsky – Kapan, Er-TargynDudarai by Yevgeny Brusilovsky – ArtyomZhalbyr by Yevgeny Brusilovsky – SugurAisulu by Sydyk Mukhamedzhanov – SerkeThe Young Guard by Yuliy Meitus – Oleg KoshevoyThe Ulyanov Brothers by Yuliy Meitus – Vladimir UlyanovTulegen Tokhtarov by Akhmet Zhubanov and Latif Khamidi – TulegenZhambyl by Latif Khamidi – ZhambylAlpamys by Erkegali Rakhmadiyev – AlpamysLa traviata by Giuseppe Verdi – Alfredo GermontNazugum by Quddus Khojamyarov – Gul’matRoméo et Juliette by Charles Gounod – Mercutio
Faust by Charles Gounod – ValentinPrince Igor by Alexander Borodin – Prince IgorEnlik-Kebek by Gaziza Zhubanova – EsenTwenty Eight by Gaziza ZhubanovaSong of Virgin Soil by Erkegali Rakhmadiyev

Legacy

A memorial plaque was installed in the Almaty house where Ermek Serkebayev lived in 2014;
In June 2022 Chamber Hall of the Kazakh National Opera and Ballet Theater was named after People's Artist of the USSR Ermek Serkebayev;
A 30-meter tall mural of Ermek Serkebayev was painted in Astana in July 2022.