Gordon Gregory   Mon, 10 Jan 2000 14:07:38 -0000
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What a nice, simple idea of Scott's, thanks. Here's my contribution.

I'm 53, work as a Product Planner or Project Manager for Fords, the car
company in Essex, England and live in London with my wife  Caroline, a
craftsman potter
(see her Webpage at:
http://www.users.dialstart.net/~gregbous/workshop.htm).


Our two daughters are now adults and have just left home. We have a small
black mongrel dog called Juno, who's infamous for wrecking a fine Martin
Shepherd lute in the pursuit of cat-chasing duties.

I started music at the age of 15 by attempting very unsuccessfully to teach
myself to play Beatles and Bob Dylan songs on the guitar. Nearly 20
frustrating years later I hired a lute from the Lute Society and as a
condition of the loan was obliged to have my first real lessons with Tim
Crawford. The result was a revelation to me, a real life changing event and
with Tim's teaching I slowly started to make progress.

The nineteen eighties were devoted to lessons with Tim, Nigel North (just an
inspirational few) and later Chris Wilson. A whole list of fine players and
teachers followed and snail-like I crawled forward -- I still have lessons,
now with the wonderful Liz Kenny and am still very much an amateur musician.

I also play piano and recorder and sing tenor badly in a small choir, we're
attempting the Matthew Passion for a performance in April. Caroline sings
alto in the choir and also plays cello with me on recorder at Sunday morning
trio sonata sessions - we have had a surprisingly good Zuckerman kit Ruckers
harpsichord on loan for the last ten years, it lives in our bedroom. Every
couple of months we have a very boozy madrigal evening for all comers -
sometimes a select 5 or 6 voices others a bawdy 20.

There are fives lutes stored under my Bechstein (who says you can't get a
good lute under a grand!). A 6 course octave strung Gerle, a 7 course for
English stuff and songs, 6 course Frei in F, a 6 course in A and a 6 course
bass in D.

My interests are obviously enough early Italian and English. I love Italian
culture, food and wine and hope to go to study lute with Andrea Damiani at
the Urbino summer school again this year.

Hiding elsewhere in the house are a synth, a sequencer, numerous recorders,
flutes, fiddles and the odd guitar.

I count myself very lucky that here in London one can find lots of good
people to play and sing with (and also to study with). Once or twice a week
there is the opportunity to play lute duets, trios and quartets --
neighbours direct people walking down our street with lute cases: "You'll be
looking for number 18, it's down there on the left". Several people in the
newsgroup are regular visitors and great friends: Chris Goodwin, Anna
Langley, Simon Lambert, Martin Shepherd and Stewart McCoy (and a bunch of
other people who don't lurk in cyber-space). I'm also delighted to be
allowed to accompany a fine singer, Poppy Holden, and we do Verdelot and
Dowland songs together.

Over the last few years I've done a couple of editions for the Lute Society:
the Francesco/Matelart duets and some Francesco fantasias and am now working
on a "Multi-media" edition of English Treble & Ground duets complete with
MIDI files, which should come out this year.

Regards,  Gordon