Gary Fry is an Emmy-winning composer, arranger, producer, conductor, and music educator. He has crafted music for recordings, films, commercials, publication, and live performance. Significant credits include his work as arranger/composer for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra‘s Welcome, Yule! holiday concerts for nearly 20 years, his current position as arranger/composer for the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra‘s Holiday Pops programs, artistic consultant to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for their annual Christmas Celebration concerts, and over 100 commissions for Christmas and holiday music from those orchestras and others from around the nation. In addition, many universities and prominent churches have commissioned new Christmas compositions and arrangements from Gary.
Long one of the nation’s foremost commercial music producers, Gary has written and produced over 2500 nationally broadcast radio and television commercials for companies such as McDonald’s, Sears, United Airlines, Kellogg’s, the U.S. Air Force, and hundreds of other advertisers. He won an Emmy Award in 2006 for his original commercial music for WBBM-TV (Chicago). Recently, Gary orchestrated and conducted music for the PBS nature special To the Ends of the Earth.
This unique combination of symphonic skills and commercial experience has made him an in-demand music writer for organizations looking for the highest-quality compositions and arrangements that also appeal to a broad audience. His deep background in the recording studio and expertise in maximizing digital recording techniques has proven valuable to clients for CD production. Recently Gary produced and arranged an album for the United Nations entitled Ambassadors Sing for Peace (featuring ambassadors to the UN from several countries for whom he also acted as vocal coach). and a recording project for the UNRocks band (comprised of ambassadors) featuring Gary’s song “Strong UN, Better World.” A video for Ronald McDonald House Charities which Gary arranged and conducted (and featuring violinist Joshua Bell) has received nearly 750,000 views on YouTube (you can view it by clicking here).
Gary also has a passion for working with young people, particularly in choral music. Children’s choirs under his direction have performed at the White House, the United Nations, the Kennedy Center in Washington, and Carnegie Hall. He remains active as a clinician, lecturer, and conductor for ensembles in all levels of education from elementary schools to universities. Gary has served as Festival Artistic Director for the Friendship Ambassadors Foundation international choral festival “Rhythms of One World,” which features concerts at the United Nations general assembly halls in New York and Geneva as well as prestigious concert venues. The festival attracts choirs from around the world, and Gary writes and conducts the music for the choirs to perform together as a massed choir.
The Provision Theater in Chicago often utilizes Gary as a composer of music for the stage. He has written music for eight of their theatrical productions, including the Jeff-nominated Spoon River Anthology, was music director for the critically acclaimed Old Wicked Songs, and most recently provided music for Nicodemus.
Gary and his wife Carol recently relocated to the Charlotte, NC, area, where two of their grown children live. Gary is also the father of Cody Fry, a Grammy-nominated, Nashville-based singer-songwriter and producer. To find out more about Cody, click here to visit www.codyfry.com.
Find out more about Gary Fry by visiting his website https://www.hightouchmusic.com/
Join us from 6:45-7:10 in the lobby for some carols with the low brass. It’s a fun holiday tradition featuring the low brass musicians who will be playing on stage at 7:30 and several fantastic musicians from the local music community.
Garry Gable has enjoyed a performing career that has taken him across Canada and into the USA and China in all types of classical music, musical theater, drama, television, radio, in-concert and stage presentations. He has taught and performed several times in China, where he is adjunct faculty in Music Universities and Conservatories in Wuhan, Tianjin, and Lanzhou. Garry has also been heard widely in
Donny Parenteau is a proud Métis Country Music artist & was born and raised in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Donny’s Saskatchewan Metis heritage goes all the way back to Louis Riel and the Northwest Rebellion 1885. Donny’s Grandfather was a fiddle player who supported his family by playing dances and performances all around Prince Albert & area. Donny picked up the fiddle at age 14 and his musically journey began becoming a multi-instrumentalist – singer songwriter making him today one of the highest nominated independent acts in Canada.
Conductor Rosemary Thomson has proven herself as a highly skilled musician with experience in conducting a wide variety of repertoire and programming innovative audience-centred presentations. Rosemary is currently in her sixteenth season as Music Director of the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra (OSO). Under her leadership, the orchestra has blossomed and seen unprecedented audience growth. In 2020, Rosemary was appointed the Artistic Director for Opera Kelowna, where she recently conducted Berlioz’s rarely performed opera Béatrice et Bénédict (2022).