Eulogy for Gary King

Though this won't mean much to my general readership who don't know the man, still I want to honor his passing anywhere I can.  

Another grand presence in the Orff world has left us— Gary King. (Garyth King on Facebook). And like all those who have sowed the seeds of their unique gifts in this most marvelous world of music and dance and fun and humor and endless imagination, his legacy will continue to shine on far beyond the mortal body. Already the testimonies are coming in as to how Gary lifted people up, be it in their teaching, their musicianship, their love of dance.

 

As for me, I met the man first through his recordings. He was one of the founding members and driving forces behind the group Shenanigans and the moment I heard their recordings, my folk dance curriculum was changed forever. I liked the old scratchy 45’s that I first heard folk dancing at Antioch College and felt the authenticity of their recordings from actual musicians in Bulgaria or Macedonia or Israel or France and beyond. But by the time I was teaching folk dance to my kids, it was an outworn technology and no tape or CD versions that I could find to replace them. 

 

For a while, the recordings by Gemini that Phyliss Weikart favored became the go-to for Orff teachers folding folk dance into their curriculum. But once I heard the Shenanigans, there was no going back. The instrumentation was much more varied and authentic, the arrangements tasteful, the tempos perfect and the variety impressive. (As an aside, I was so moved by the Bulgarian gaida in the Rada Pere dance that I vowed to get one and learn how to play, which I finally did.) I loved using their recordings of familiar dances and was inspired to learn many new ones that they introduced. 

 

So when I finally met Gary at the Chicago Orff Conference in 1987, I was well-prepared to like him. And I was not disappointed. Wonderful to dance to his music live and to feel the full spirit of his playful energy and boisterous spirit. He also got to meet my mentor teacher Avon Gillespie at that Conference and he was so happy for that opportunity. 

 

The next time we crossed paths was at the Australian National Conference in Sydney. It was a dramatic conference, with bush fires raging nearby and an impressive mixture of talented presenters. Near the end, there was a boat trip around Sydney Harbor with Gary and friends provided live dance music. A beautiful summer night with the lull of the water, the Sydney Opera House in the distance and the conviviality of Orff folks celebrating the end of a memorable time together. 

 

It was also at this conference where Gary attended my workshop and asked me one of the more intriguing questions anyone has ever asked. After I presented my “4-Level Canon” body percussion activity, he raised his hand: “Was that an exercise or a piece?” He seemed well-satisfied with my answer: “Yes.” 

 

A few years later, we met again at the Melbourne Conference and I had my whole family with me and he had his. I vaguely remember some ping-pong games in a rec room and going to one of this workshops on improvisation that seemed a bit on the wild side. 

 

Yet later after that, perhaps in the late 90’s, Gary came to San Francisco. I have to look in the archives to see if he presented for our local Orff chapter, but perhaps not, as I think he was connected with people in a California contra-dance community he met. At any rate, he did come visit my school and I had him sing “Travel Around Australia” to see if the kids would recognize his voice. They didn’t and he turned to me and remarked, “Well, it a bit lower than it used to be.” He had a great time at the school and I enjoyed seeing him yet again.

 

And then it stopped. Not for any obvious reason. Just somehow our paths stopped crossing. The Shenanigans had long ago disbanded and Gary simply didn’t come to the few Australian conferences I got to present in after 2000. I remember some warm Facebook exchanges, but they’ve long ago floated out into the ether. In the past few years, I heard that he was ill and wrote some healing thoughts to him. And just one month ago, an Orff colleague trying to track him down asked me if I knew any news. I asked my Australian friends what they knew and the answer was simply, “I believe he’s still with us.” Until he was not. 

 

Right up until my last classes with the 5-year olds in 2020, we were still dancing to “Travel Round Australia,” indelibly imprinted with Gary’s signature voice. I’d like to imagine him on that Grand Highway Number One in the sky, still stopping here and there to “walk, walk and run, run, run. ” 

 

Rest in peace, Gary King and thank you for all the joy, music and dance you gave to so many. You will be sorely missed, but never forgotten.