Occupation: I was born in Boston and received my early training in the cello at the Royal Manchester College of Music in England. Then I attended the New England Conservatory in Boston.

For the last 22 years, I have been a music teacher and director of the orchestra at New Canaan High School where I have some terrific students. When I was playing the cello professionally, I was with the Utah Symphony Orchestra, with the Casals Festival Orchestra in Puerto Rico, and with the American Ballet Theatre in New York City.

While I played the cello, I was totally focused on that life. Then I contracted repetitive injury syndrome and had to give up playing the cello and turn to a new profession, which is teaching. I wasn’t  sure how this new life stage would work out, but it has been very broadening. I love working with young people.

I have been head of the Concert Society Chamber Orchestra since the mid 1970s when it was in Somers, N.Y. Now it is based in Newtown and we’re about to give a Holiday Concert on Friday, January 7, at 8 pm at Trinity Church to benefit the Cyrenius H. Booth Library. Violinist Eric Lewis and soprano Maria Ferrante will be featured, and Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons will be on the program along with a Telemann concerto and selected arias from the Messiah by Handel. This is the fourth year we have done the Holiday Concert and I’m hoping we have a good turnout.

How Long In Newtown: I have lived here since 1989, when I bought my house on Hillside Lane from the late Barbara Winder. She was a wonderful poet and friend whom I met while earning my certification at Western Connecticut State University.

Family: I am not married, but I have two brothers. Roger is an actor on the TV show Law and Order. You might have seen him –– he plays Judge Quinn. My other brother Midhat recently retired from the Metropolitan Opera where he was solo violinist. He’s married and has three children.

I must also mention Sweetheart, my beloved tri-color collie mix who brightened my days for 15 years until he died. I would get another dog but I’m never home it seems, and that would not be fair.

Hobbies: Golf, I’m sorry to say. It’s very relaxing. I play with a regular foursome at the Newtown Country Club. Also my perennial garden and the giant salvias that I plant every year. And I am heavily into home improvement. I’ve totally redone my attic to create a loft bedroom, I transformed an attached garage into a dining room off the kitchen, and I am now in the process of insulating a separate garage on the property.

Favorite Books: I love to read history, particularly about the Middle East. My father was born in what is now Lebanon and that is my heritage. I also love reading 19th Century English poetry.

A Newtown Memory And A Timely Warning: Don’t get stopped by the police when you’re coming home from a Christmas party!

Vacation Destinations: Whenever I can, I travel. I just came back from China where I saw the terra-cotta figures of warriors and horses. Before that I went to St Petersburg, Russia, to see the Winter Palace with opulence beyond belief that puts Versailles to shame. And the art at The Hermitage museum –– what a knockout!

Personal Philosophy: I am part of this community and I feel strongly about sharing expertise and doing those things that will enhance it. After all, I did not become a musician to earn money. For that, I could have become a banker.

Sometimes, I think the world is in a terrible state. But then I go and work with the kids — they affectionately call me “Serbs,” as do my school colleagues — and I find I can give them something from my own ethos. That’s how I make my contribution. It is interesting because New Canaan has a huge Mormon community, as well as many other ethnic groups. The kids are always arguing about religion and once when I overheard them, I asked if I could put in my two cents. Here’s what I said: “Be careful when you feel that God is only on your side, because then you’re liable to do anything.”

Snapshot: Richard E. Serbagi