Gary Corrin was appointed Principal Librarian of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in January 1992, having held similar positions with the National Symphony in Washington, D.C., the New World Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, Denver Symphony, and Eugene (Oregon) Symphony.
Gary grew up in a small agricultural town in California (Steinbeck country) where the most significant musical event of his youth was the first parade appearance of the Salinas Valley Highlanders, a bagpipe band of which his father was a founding member. What a racket!
Gary began playing clarinet in the fourth-grade band and had absolutely no interest in pursuing music as a career until he played in his first orchestra for a summer musical production of My Fair Lady. He subsequently declared a Clarinet Major at the University of California at Santa Barbara to get free clarinet lessons. There he met Martin Silver, Head Music Librarian, who claims (probably rightfully so) to have launched Gary’s librarian career.
Gary credits his clarinet teachers—James Kanter, Dominick Fera, and Rosario Mazzeo—with their musical, moral, and philosophical guidance and continues to play clarinet in Toronto’s annual New Year’s “Bravissimo” and “Salute to Vienna” Concerts, for which he also serves as Chief Librarian and Programming Facilitator. During summers, Gary shares the Librarian duties for the Grand Teton Music Festival in Jackson, Wyoming.
Gary bicycles everywhere for every reason and in every season, loves to cook, and continues to restore his century-old home in High Park.