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Gerre Hancock
Gerre Hancock has been the organist and choirmaster of New York's famed St.
Thomas Church on Fifth Avenue, and a Juilliard faculty member, since 1971.
Prior to this, he served in the same position at Christ Church in Cincinnati
(where he also taught at the College-Conservatory of Music, University of
Cincinnati). The author of Improvising: How to Master the Art, Mr. Hancock
also teaches at Yale's Institute of Sacred Music and Eastman School of Music
and has recorded for Koch International and Gothic.
When did you first know you wanted to be a musician and how did you come to
know it?
When I first heard, at age 4, the sound of an orchestra … and, as a lad of
about 6, a pipe organ. I recall that the music was—who else?—J.S. Bach, but
that's about it. Just the sheer beauty of the sounds, wind-blown, coming
through those wooden and metal pipes, still thrills me more than I could ever
articulate.
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| Gerre Hancock |
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Who was the teacher or mentor who most inspired you when you were growing
up and what did you learn from that person?
E. William Doty, dean of the College of Fine Arts, the University of Texas at
Austin; from him I learned the lesson of self-examination and self-reliance.
What was the first recording that you ever bought? What was its
significance to you?
Organ works of Bach, performed by Albert Schweitzer. The glory of that music
lives with me still and always.
What's the most embarrassing moment you've had as a performer?
Arriving at the hall minus the white tie for my tails! This was for a
two-person, four-hands and four-feet organ recital, during which the book fell
into my partner's lap while I was turning our pages. Before really thinking
about what it might look like, I lunged toward my wife's lap in an
almost-successful effort to restore the music book to the rack. (I rejoice in
saying that we are still married!)
If you could have your students visit any place in the world, where would
it be, and why?
Saint Thomas Church in Leipzig, the last home of J.S. Bach. It is
awe-inspiring to stand on the very site where so much of the music we sing,
play, and conduct was once heard under the master's hands.
What are your non-music related interests or hobbies?
I am an avid tennis player, if a very poor one!
What is your proudest accomplishment in life?
Attempting to build the music program at Saint Thomas Church, and trying to
share the fruits of my labors with my younger colleagues at Juilliard, Yale
University, and Eastman. I began my work at Juilliard and Saint Thomas in
1971; while this represents quite a tenure, one knows that there is always
more repertory to learn and perform, more students to help, and new pieces to
write for the superb forces in this great city (choral, organ, and
orchestral). Here's much looking forward to all this!
What's the most satisfying aspect of teaching for you?
Experiencing the growth of my students and watching and hearing them mature.
What's the most frustrating aspect of teaching for you?
Never having as much lesson time as I'd like!
What "words of wisdom" can you offer young people entering the field today?
Good luck comes to those who are prepared and who have worked hard all along.
Is there anything you'd like to add?
I would like to thank God for a life so rich in beauty and so rewarding in
friends in music.
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