Martin Arnold Silver

Martin Silver passed away February 17th, in his Goleta, California home. Born in the Bronx on June 12th, 1933, he attended Evander Childs High School and later received a BA in Music from the City College of New York. In 1959, he set off for Europe, where he studied flute under Jean-Pierre Rampal at the Conservatoire de Paris. On his return he earned an MA in Library Science from Columbia University and began his career as music librarian at the New York Library for the Performing at Arts at Lincoln Center. He married Barbara Jean Ceizler and together they moved to Santa Barbara where Martin headed up the UC Santa Barbara Music Library for 25 years. In his retirement he remained an accomplished flutist and carried on his book business, Martin A. Silver Musical Literature.

For his 75th birthday in June, vintner friend Stephan Bedford treated guests to a feast in Los Olivos. Friends Adrian Spence and Sir James Galway played impromptu flute duets in the summer heat for Martin’s guests, who had traveled from around the world to attend. Martin will be best remembered for his warmth and his sense of humor.

He is survived by his former wife Barbara Silver; children, William Silver and fiancee Jennifer Ciraldo of Santa Barbara, Jessica Silver-Sharp and son-in-law Dennis Sharp of Redwood City, grandson Joshua Sharp, and sister Carole Silver and brother-in-law Norman Levy of New York and South Africa.

Memorial donations may be made to the Ashland Chamber Music Workshop, 1250 Siskiyou, Ashland, OR, 97520. Memorial party at Skofield Park, April 11th, 2pm-6pm. Kindly RSVP to jessisilver@gmail.com, (650) 240-6560, or William, silverserv@gmail.com, by March 30th.