Know Your Musician Series - 16

February - 26

Mordecai Seter (February 26, 1916 – August 8, 1994) was a Russian-born Israeli composer.Seter was born Mordecai Starominsky in Novorossiysk, Russia, in 1916 and emigrated with his family to Mandate Palestine in 1926.

He learned to play the piano from the age of seven in Russia, and continued with his lessons and studies in Tel Aviv. In 1937, he went to Paris, France, and studied composition at the Ecole Normal de Musique with composer Paul Dukas and with the great teacher Nadia Boulanger. In 1937, he returned to Israel and began composing music, formulating his unique style.

From 1951 until his retirement in 1985, Seter was one of the most influential teachers at the Rubin Academy of Tel Aviv University (previously the Israel Conservatory). His students included composers TzviAvni, ArieShapira, Nurit Hirsh and the conductor Gary Bertini.