Gareth
grew up in New York and Pennsylvania in the middle of a brood of 8 children in
Pastor Cole’s parsonage. One doesn’t spend his formative years with activities
surrounding a Baptist Church, without a lot of singing.
The family would even sing around the dinner table. Gareth remembers the family
plotting to leave him the last note of, “Sing Hosannah to the King” as a trick,
because he’d belt it out like no one else, since he was 5 or 6. They soon
realized that, trick or not, he’d still belt out that last note! As a matter of
fact, he’d do it again if given the chance even today! So that’s where it began
for him.
He played the trombone, since the 4th grade, was always in the band and chorus, in every school play and musical he found and was in a rock band in college during the turbulent 60’s and early 70’s. For the next 20 years his musical performance took him through 20 countries and several states fulfilling his lust for travel and zest for freedom.
His experience as a
church soloist earned him an invitation to a chapter
meeting of the
Country Gentlemen Chorus in the spring of 1992, where during the ensuing years
he developed as
section leader, assistant director and
then chorus director. He’s attended Harmony College, Directors College and
dozens of barbershop shows and competitions, preparing for
his dream of being part of a world class barbershop quartet. Since 2002 he’s
been the tenor of GENEVA.
He lives in Walworth, WI with his wife, Nancy and daughter Kelsey.