Music Professor Struck by Train in Apparent Suicide

Updated on Monday, Feb. 4 at 2:46 p.m.






  • Printer Friendly Printer Friendly
  • Comments Comments (0)

A UC Berkeley music professor and award-winning composer was killed yesterday morning when he was struck by a BART train in an apparent suicide, Contra Costa County authorities said.

Jorge Liderman, 50, was alone on the El Cerrito Plaza platform before apparently jumping out onto the tracks shortly before 10:00 a.m., said BART spokesperson Linton Johnson.

He was killed instantly.

The train's operator told investigators that Liderman jumped in front of the Richmond-bound train about 5 seconds before it struck him, Johnson said.

His death has been classified as a suicide, according to an official at the Contra Costa County Coroner's Office.

But Johnson said BART police have not called the death a suicide because they were waiting to see if a medical emergency could have caused Liderman to fall onto the tracks.

Born in Buenos Aires, Liderman studied music in Jerusalem and earned a doctorate at the University of Chicago.

He joined the UC Berkeley faculty in 1989, and taught music theory and 20th century music.

Liderman's opera, Antigona Furiosa, won the 1992 Munich Biennale International Prize in Composition.

Liderman is survived by his wife Mimi Wolff, his sister Claudia and his mother Sarah.

"Jorge was a wonderful, kind and loving man," Wolff said in a statement. "He had an extraordinary talent for expressing himself through his music. He was a very private person and everything he wanted to communicate to the public he did through his music."

Tags: LIDERMAN


Contact Kevin Leahy at kleahy@dailycal.org.



Comments (0) »

Comment Policy
White space
Left Arrow
Obituaries
Image Leading Authority of Neuroanatomy Dies at 63
Jeffery Winer, a professor of neurobiology and a leading authority in t...Read More»
Obituaries
Image Former Berkeley Deputy Fire Chief Dies at 79
Roland Scrivner, a retired deputy chief for the Berkeley Fire Departmen...Read More»
Obituaries
Image Influential Former Coach Led Team to NCAA Victory
Pete Newell, one of the most influential minds ever to coach in th...Read More»
Obituaries
Image Campus Mourns Sudden Loss of History Professor
Jon Gjerde, a history professor and dean of the social sciences divi...Read More»
Obituaries
Image Young Alum Remembered For Affability, Generosity
UC Berkeley alumnus Edward Dalaei, remembered by friends and family...Read More»
Obituaries
Image Suicide of Army Veteran, Senior Shocks Family
Elijah Warren, a UC Berkeley senior and a veteran of the Iraq and Afgh...Read More»
Right Arrow
More Headlines »






Job Postings

White Space