Album Notes

Gary has been involved in music since his youth. He was a church organist in his teens and then went on to study guitar, accordion, voice, piano, and harpsichord. He began his harp studies thirteen years ago during his training to be a Music Thanatologist. His specialty is the music of the Celtic Isles and also that of the Medieval (Gregorian Chant, Cantigas, Laude, Estampie) and Renaissance periods. He has a deep love for the American music of the Shaker and Shape Note traditions.

He began his academic career as a voice major at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. He graduated from New York University (NYC) in 1984 with a BFA in Photography and went on to study theater arts. He graduated from the Chalice of Repose Project's School of Music-Thanatology (Missoula, MT) in 1996 at which time he moved to Seattle to start a practice (Sacred Harmonies) with his colleague Jeri Howe. In 2001 he moved to the Portland area and was invited to join SACREDFLIGHT, a Music-Thanatology practice in Portland. He is now working as a Music Thanatologist at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene, Oregon. Music-Thanatology is a palliative practice which incorporates harp and voice to serve the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of those nearing the end of life with prescriptive music.

His recording credits include: "Geography of the Soul" (1996); "Dance Music of Western Europe: 1450 - 1650" (1999). He has recently completed work on his first solo CD: "The Wayfaring Pilgrim" (2005) and was music director and co-producer of the CDs: "Loom Of Love" (2006) and "From The Deep Earth" (2007), a creative collaboration with Music-Thanatologists from around the Pacific Northwest. He is currently working on a second solo CD which he hopes to release by the Spring of 2008.