Of course, we still fall in love – as then, as now, people fall in love in all sorts of ways. For some couples, it’s the winning smile that secures the important date; some, the fresh well-fitting fashion of a perfect outfit. For others, there’s something special in the sound of a voice.
For Gwen Gould, meeting her husband and partner of 52 years, the latter element was certainly part of the story; as were the songs themselves. “He’s a tenor!” she says. “What choral conductor could refuse a tenor?”
When Ed Grossman arrived at his audition in 1972, he didn’t realize that his spirited performance of the 1940s hit “The Nearness of You” would win him more than just the coveted role in a vocal performance group. “We met 52 years ago when he auditioned for the West Village Chorale, which I had founded in 1971,” Gwen recalls. There was no way to know at that moment that his sweet rendition of the Depression-era classic would lead him to the life and family they’ve built together today.
Music has been a guiding star for Gwen Gould since she was a small child. “I have been engaged in music for all of my life, first playing the piano at the age of 7, and later taking organ lessons from a German organist at my church who introduced me to Bach. There was no turning back from that experience!” Even at a young age, Gwen’s focus on this work became clear, leading to early professional opportunities and competitions. At the age of 13, I had my first job playing at St. Peter’s Church, Lithgow NY, just outside of Millbrook. I went on to major in sacred music with a focus on the organ at DePauw University and Yale Institute of Sacred Music/ Union. In 1965, I was a finalist in The National Organ Playing Competition in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.”
Morris Edwin Grossman – “known by most as Ed, and by his childhood friends as ‘Snooky’” (according to Gwen) – spent most of his career working in technology. When the two of them met, he worked as a programmer; the couple later started an IT staffing service that runs to this day. Formerly located in New York City, Gwen & Ed moved the business and themselves to Columbia County full-time in 2001, nine months before 9/11. The timing turned out to be fortunate: their office had been 2 blocks from the World Trade Center. Skipping two generations, Ed’s early inclination for computer softwares is echoed by their grandson, Morgan, a Senior Software Engineer living with three young children and his wife Allison in Albany.
Ed doesn’t exactly fit the stereotype of the quiet computer professional: Gwen recounts stories of him “regularly” coming down the stairs in the morning singing (he still does!)”. His sense of self-identity came with charm and confidence; on their first date, he passionately told her “You have to accept me the way I am!”. That acceptance grew into a deep and lifelong connection. Ed’s directness was likely a trait Gwen recognized in herself. “Our first dog, Beau, a German Shepherd mix, was found eating out of a garbage pail in Manhattan by an artist I was taking a class with. I asked Beau to sit and he did, so I took him home with me!”
Ed and Gwen had a head start on their family, and it’s grown to include many generations. When they met, Ed had three young daughters. They also now have a son together. The four children they raised are now all adults with lives of their own. “I have one son, three stepdaughters, five grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and one GREAT-great-grandchild!” The family has expanded and spread across the country, living both near and far. Close to home in Columbia County, Ed’s middle daughter Jamie Grossman resides in Kinderhook, after fleeing Hawaii before imminent volcanic eruptions. Gwen describes Jamie as “a very caring and creative employee”, working with the residents of Camphill Hudson.
Despite the fifty years that have passed since they first met in that chorus audition, Gwen and Ed both still love making music. “Ed hasn’t stopped singing,” Gwen says, “he began singing an annual concert at Club Helsinki, with Tony Kieraldo at the piano, when he turned 80!” In another reverberation of the couple’s story, their son Nicholas Grossman met his wife Francesca when they both sang in an a cappella group called ‘Everyday People’ while attending Stanford University.
After years of running different orchestra organizations, in 2019 Gwen founded on anew: launching the Hudson Festival Orchestra with the goal of bringing together different cultures and perspectives through the connective power of music. The HFO’s annual Hudson in Concert event, comprised of the full orchestra and taking place on the waterfront, celebrates our diverse American heritage and recognizes that music and culture can bridge divides and build community. “As a civil rights activist in the ’60s, I attended the March on Washington in 1963. Martin Luther King’s words ‘We shall be able to transform the jangling discovers of our nation to a beautiful symphony of brotherhood’ inspired me to create a symphony (orchestra) here in Hudson to do just that! Our program is free and open to the public, and engages as many local community organizations and youth programs as possible, with musical selections representing the various cultures. We are always seeking volunteers, board members, advisors, and contributors who share our vision for the future! If you missed Hudson in Concert in July, listen up: it will be featured on Giving Tuesday, December 3, 2024 at hudsonfestivalorchestra.org. Live & in-person, HFO’s annual Holiday Sing will also help ring in the season at Winter Walk on December 7th from 6-7pm at the historic First Presbyterian Church.”
Gwen’s account of her story offers many poignant moments, beautiful and complicated alike. Some are hard to imagine for the modern audience. “My father Elton Gould was in the South Pacific during World War II when I was born, so I didn’t meet him until I was 3 years old.” Other tales are softened with humor in the retelling. “Our son Nicholas came into the world 3 weeks early – likely because we had Cuban Chinese food the night before – and he said I’m out of here! It was Holy Week, and I was an organist at The Church of Our Saviour in Manhattan at the time. [I] was on the phone a few hours after his birth trying to find a replacement for myself! I found an ex-Monk.”
Despite these challenges, when Gwen talks about her story with Ed, there’s moments that feel precious, timeless. For the start of a life of love and music together, it all began with a song. “We have many fond memories together; Ed’s audition was the first… which blew me away!” Five full decades later, the lyrics still evoke the same feeling of hope that they did for that special performance all these years ago. It’s not the pale moon that excites me, that thrills and delights me, oh no! It’s just the nearness of you… When you’re in my arms and I feel you so close to me, all my wildest dreams come true!
Was there something prescient in the words? Take a look at them now… and tell us what you think.