William Sterling   Mon, 17 Jan 2000 20:36:53 -0800
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Hi I am William Sterling, but I go by Bill

I am 44, a product of the baby boom year of 1955. I grew up as an army 
brat son of an engineer turned priest colonel in the US Army.

Once upon a time, I was a High School student living in Stuttgart
(then West) Germany.  I had a student card that allowed me to get discount
tickets to Opera, Ballet and Symphony performances.  A friend who played
Walter Gerwig's Bach Recording for me led me to the next step of attending
a Julian Bream concert in the Mozart halle. I am pretty sure that this was
in early 1972.

I went to University in Denton Texas, and wound up with a degree in physics,
instead of flute and composition, which I why I went.

After loosing myself in work and family for 11 years.  Also I had lost
touch with music.  I didn't even buy LPs or have a working record player.
Remember LPs?

Then at the end of a company's life due to acquisition, a bonus was triggered.
And a seed long planted caused me to put money down on a lute.  Some unseen
force made me do it.

So I took lessons from a long suffering Bob Strizich and began to make
sounds that could be recognized as lute music.  The active tutoring
ended 1 1/2 year later when cancer took my life in a new direction.

Using the infant internet (via unix shell and elm etc...) I was in touch
with various cancer support groups and found the lute list as well.
This was 1993.

Like many others in the San Francisco California area,  Mike Peterson
saw my post to a similar, lute survey, and introduced me to his growing
local lute community.

These days I can occasionally get out to do duets or lute seminars and other
lewting activities.  I have made 2 lutes and a baroque guitar also, and am
hoping to re-join part 2 of David Van Edwards internet build it yourself 13 c
Baroque lute course.


best regards,

bill