A time in place

   There's a time for every purpose under heaven. And a tempo. And a melody. And a place. And Jonn Serrie of Lawrenceville is just the guy to pull it altogether. 
Serrie began playing the piano at age six. That same year, he saw Sputnik in the sky. He thought its rhythmic beeping was a form of music. By age eleven, he was the organist for his church and already well-grounded in traditional music. But when he entered the adult workforce, he switched tracks and demonstrated synthesizer technology for Electronic Music Laboratories, a manufacturing and research facility.
   "I got to know how sound works. It enabled me to see the future of the music industry from a unique perspective." Serrie said. The experience led to a career in outer space music.
   "My music helps us explore a sense of ourselves and our place in the universe."
Serrie has held his place well as an internationally known leader in his field. "I'm not catering to the rock crowd in the top 40. Life beyond the top 40 can last three weeks. My career has been going on for nearly 40 years." 
   One might wonder who his long-lived fans are.
   Serrie performs for NASA banquets and writes music for planetariums. He composed the music for the Teacher in Space program and his work was featured at the opening for the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium. He worked with George Lucas on the world's first interactive domed theater production and just completed with IMAX Corporation and the Space Telescope Science Institute a feature film about the discovery of Deep Field galaxies beyond the known universe. He's composed for PBS and the Weather Channel and he's even written music for a special project in the defense department. And besides that, he notes that 700,000 pilots are tuned in to what he does. 
   "My music transports the listener through space and time. It fosters the sensation of being transported beyond the boundaries of the physical realm."
   He enhances his expertise of inner and outer space by meditating daily and flying planes as often as possible. He holds advanced instrument and commercial ratings.
   "I found my niche," he said. "But space is infinite, so the palate of music is infinite."
   Serrie invites young musicians to join him in this infinite space by offering an annual $1000 Galaxy scholarship to a high school senior.
   "Just create a piece of ambient music 4-6 minutes long. Judges are nationally known experts." (Info: www.vipinfo.com/jonn  )
   His next step into infinity is circling through space back to the traditional music of his youth. His upcoming CD "Epiphany" will feature church hymns in space music style.
   As we talked, he broke out of conversation and sang a few lines of "A Closer Walk with Thee."
   I sat in awesome wonder as I imagined the infinite paths this man can travel, knowing as well as he does his place and purpose under heaven.


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