He graduated from the Municipal School of Music in Montevideo at fifteen, having studied violin, solfege, and Latin American folklore.
The premiere was given to Eleazar de Carvalho, who later that same year became his conducting teacher at Tanglewood, the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home.
Serebrier's New York conducting debut with the American Symphony Orchestra was at Carnegie Hall in 1965.
At the time, Ives' Fourth Symphony had been considered so difficult that it was performed using three conductors at its premiere in 1965, almost 50 years after its composition.
He has had very many conducting posts, including principal guest conductor of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra during the 1982–83 season.
Leopold Stokowski named Serebrier Associate Conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra, a post he held for five years until going to Cleveland at George Szell's invitation.
In 2012, BIS Records released Serebrier's Flute Concerto with Tango, which they commissioned for flutist Sharon Bezaly.
He won the Latin Grammy Awards of 2004 Best Classical Album for his own work, the "Carmen Symphony".