When Gareth was born in Alexandria, Virginia in 1944, his mother was a gifted amateur pianist, and his father played double-bass for the newly established National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. As a youth, Gareth took cello, guitar, clarinet, and piano lessons. His musical education was also provided at home, where he heard his parents practice and where string music, particularly the works of Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms were played religiously.
In his teens, Gareth joined a folksong group and entertained in coffeehouses. As a young adult, he wrote and played original rock music in San Francisco and the Bay Area.
Cook immigrated to Saskatchewan in 1969, visiting La Ronge for the first time in 1970. After graduating from the University of Saskatchewan in 1976 with a Bachelor of Music, he learned entry-level career opportunities in his chosen field, theory and composition, were limited. So, he earned a teaching certificate and began working in public schools. He continued writing, playing, and singing music in his spare time.
With the advent of computer technology and music processing programs, Cook’s interest in composition rekindled. He became a member of the Saskatoon Composers’ Performance Society, and his music was performed in concert by the Saskatoon Chamber Singers, the Saskatoon Youth Orchestra, the Evan Hardy High School Concert Band, and the Adaskin String Trio.
In 1995, after teaching in the northern Saskatchewan communities of Fond du Lac, Patuanak, Timber Bay, and Weyakwin, Gareth made La Ronge his home. His affection for the place and its people has kept him there.
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