ABOUT THE PAYNES
About the Paynes
Gerry's ancestry is pure Irish, and he was born in Oklahoma where the Paynes, Harringtons, and Flanagans made their homes during the great homesteading rush of the late 1800s. Gerry's first violin was found in the attic of his Grandfather Harrington's house. It had once belonged to his Uncle Jerry Flanagan. So, in the fourth grade, he started violin lessons after the repair of the violin which had been gnawed at by mice and generally mal-treated. In high school, his Great Aunt Fern Payne was instrumental in obtaining a better quality violin for Gerry to use. He played in the Oklahoma City Junior Symphony while a violin student at the Oklahoma City University School of Music. He also learned to play sax in a local band called the Road Runners where he fronted such bands as Bobby Rydell, Don Cherry, Del Shannon, Jody Miller and Roger Miller. (Mainly he discovered that girls liked saxophone players better than violinists in the days of Rock n' Roll.) Recently, Gerry took his original violin down from the wall where it was merely a wall decoration and reworked it and is now playing on his original violin. His violin collection includes a Nagyvary violin; a Stainer violin which he discovered in an antique store in Montana and which he refurbished with the help of his neighbor, Jim Hyde; a five-string violin; and another violin made by that same neighbor. He uses all of the violins according to the needs of the venue for which he is playing. After serving his country in active duty Air Force and then in the Texas Air National Guard while maintaining a 30-year career as an engineer at Kraft Foods, Gerry is now able to totally indulge his love of music. Throughout his adult life, he has played with many different bands. He plays a total of ten instruments: violin; mandolin; alto, soprano, and tenor saxophones; accordion; clarinet; harmonica; guitar; and piano. Gerry is the recipient of the 2002 Coast-to-Coast Country Music Awards, "Specialty Instrumentalist" for his excellence on the saxophone.
CHERISH THE MUSIC | (832) 875-0688 | HJWhitwort@aol.com
Harriet is of German/Dutch heritage and was strongly encouraged by her parents in her love of music and performing and in her goal to become a concert pianist. While a student at the St. Louis Institute of Music, she realized that teaching was her real calling. Throughout her adult life, she has performed as a solo pianist and also as a church organist while raising six children. Being in charge of children's choirs brought her years of enjoyment which was culminated in an invitation for one of the choirs to perform in Washington, D.C. She also was a specialist in coaching children for many UIL events and other competitions. In 1998 and 1999, she accompanied her student, Kristina Rodriguez, to Washington, D.C. where Kristina competed in the National Scripps Howard Spelling Bee. Throughout her school career, she maintained her private piano studio and is currently involved in that vocation after retiring from St. Anthony School in 2000. In 1999 she received the Diocese of Brownsville's Bishop's Spirit Award for "Outstanding Commitment to Catholic Schools."
The duo play under the name "Cherish the Music" and perform professionally in many venues from weddings to funerals, fund raisers, private parties, restaurants and perform many styles of music to suit these various settings. They have been engaged at Moe's Bar and Grill at Katy Mills Mall in Katy, Texas, during the Fall of 2004 and again during the Christmas season in 2005. In February, 2006, they were featured at the Rio Grande Valley Music Festival. They performed at the Wellspring Gala in 2005 and for three years at the Christmas CASA Home Tour in SugarLand, Texas. They have provided wonderful music for countless weddings and private parties. One of their favorite pastimes is to play at various facilities for older people when they are traveling. They view this as a particularly rewarding ministry from Williamsburg, Virginia; to Lake Tahoe, California; and Palm Springs, California, as well as locally. They contribute to their church as singers and instrumentalists.
Harriet and Gerry are available to travel to provide the perfect entertainment for YOUR special occasion or venue.
