Collection is open for research.
Gift of Jim Strassmaier, March 2006 (Lib. Acc. 25940).
Sergiu Luca was born in Bucharest, Romania, in 1943. In 1950, his family moved to Israel. Two years later, he debuted as a violinist with the Haifa Symphony Orchestra. He studied music in London and Switzerland before coming to the United States to study at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1965, he made his U.S. debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra. In 1971, he founded the Chamber Music Northwest festival in Portland, Oregon. In 1983 he became director of the Texas Chamber Orchestra in Houston and began a career as a professor of violin at William Marshall Rice University. In 1987, he founded the Cascade Head Music Festival in Oregon and served as its artistic director until 2008. He died in 2010.
Incomplete transcript (83 pages) and outline (7 pages) are available for in-person use at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Oral history interview with Sergiu Luca, by Jim Strassmaier, SR 11080, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
This oral history interview with Sergiu Luca was conducted by Jim Strassmaier at Luca's home in Otis, Oregon, from July 20 to August 17, 2005, as part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library's oral history program. The interview was conducted in two sessions. Collection also includes two digital and three print photographs of Luca.
In the first interview session, conducted on July 20, 2005, Luca discusses his family background and early life in Bucharest, Romania, including his early education in playing the violin. He talks about immigrating to Israel with his family in 1950, his father's death shortly after, and continuing his musical education. He then speaks about studying violin in London, England, and in Switzerland with Max Rostal, and later studying violin in the United States at the Curtis Institute with Ivan Galamian. He talks about his involvement with Portland State University and the origins of Chamber Music Northwest, including its funding and early performances, and the reasons why he left the organization. He also discusses his restaurant, Uncle Chen's. He then talks about the origins of the Cascade Head Music Festival.
In the second interview session, conducted on August 17, 2005, Luca speaks at length about living with Jenny Grimm, wife of Socialist leader Robert Grimm, while studying violin in Switzerland. He discusses his career as a professor of violin at William Marshall Rice University in Houston, Texas. He also revisits the topic of his musical education, then continues to discuss the Cascade Head Music Festival. He closes the interview by talking about his musical process, the music he enjoys playing, and popular music pieces.
Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and the estate of Sergiu Luca. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted,
Copyright to photographs has not been determined and use may require authorization from copyright holders.