Audrey Gray has been teaching music for more than 50 years
Published in the March 4 – 17, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Robert Airoldi
Photo by Robert Airoldi
Ellie Lyle, a 13-year-old student at Oakwood School, practices with Audrey Gray during a recent private lesson.
Audrey Gray loves music. She has spent her life sharing her passion for the musical arts with children as well as playing the violin and piano for her own enjoyment. The Morgan Hill resident spends much of her time giving private lessons as well as volunteering teaching at local schools. And she enjoys performing on stage for the South Valley Symphony.
“Music gets the whole brain working, and that carries over to other subjects,” she said of students learning to play an instrument. “They learn from the advances they make in music, that if they work hard, they can learn anything.”
Born in Berkeley and raised in San Francisco, Grey studied at San Francisco State University where she earned a degree in music. At the university she met her husband Tom, who was in the music program as well.
They married in 1957 and moved to Sterling, Colo., where Tom taught music in the local college while Audrey taught in elementary schools.
Two years later the couple moved to Iowa where Tom earned his doctorate degree and Audrey taught music to fifth and sixth graders. There she began to study the organ and served as a church organist for 25 years. She now plays the piano, violin, organ and viola.
After their short stint in Iowa, in 1962 the couple moved to Lake Forest, Ill., where they both taught music. It was there the harsh winter weather helped the couple realize they needed to find a way back to the Bay Area.
“For 31 days it never got above zero,” Gray said. “Then one day it got to 5 degrees and we were so happy, (Tom and I) went outside and played with the dog.”
The next summer they packed their bags and moved to the milder climate of California and settled in Palo Alto where they lived for 35 years, raising two children, son Don, 50, who lives in the East Bay, and Allison, 49, who lives in Portland, Ore.
Audrey stayed home to raise the two children. When they entered high school, she started giving private lessons.
In 1999 as Silicon Valley started to get more crowded, the couple took a relaxing drive through the South Valley and got a glimpse of Morgan Hill. They drove through a few neighborhoods, and decided to move.
“Here, there’s a little bit of the city and little bit of the country,” Audrey said while seated in her west Morgan Hill living room that has an awe-inspiring view of the valley floor and eastern foothills. “We’ve been happy ever since.”
About 18 months ago, Tom passed away, but the spry, energetic septuagenarian continues to teach music and volunteer her time at schools. She instructs 13 private students at her home and volunteers one day a week at Jackson Academy of Math and Music Academy to work with students in kindergarten, first and second grade.
“It’s a lot of fun,” she said. “The kids are really interested and they love it.”
She takes her students to Valley Pines Senior Assisted Living where they play for the seniors.
“They treat the students like their grandchildren and the kids treat them like their grandparents,” she said.
Audrey also often plays piano for the residents. Seeing the smiles on their faces brings one to hers.
“They give me big hugs and ask when we’ll return,” she said. “It brightens their day and that’s why I love doing that kind of thing.”
She also volunteers at the Gilroy Compassion Center and the Gilroy Armory helping to feed the homeless, but perhaps her greatest joy is playing the violin in the South Valley Symphony.
“I enjoy the music and it’s a good way for me to keep up with my skills,” she said.
