Miles, Gary Lewis

Composer

b Enid, Oklahoma, USA 1947, d USA ?1990s. Univ of Houston, Texas (BA Mus 1970) and in the UK the GSM (post-grad diploma in singing). A member of the Community of Celebration formerly led by Graham and Betty Pulkingham, he was one of a substantial number arriving in the UK c1973–74. The music group The Fisherfolk (formerly ‘Fishermen’) made a considerable impact on the traditional CofE church and parish of Wargrave, Berks, nr Henley-on-Thames, where John Ratings was the (still fairly new) vicar; for a time Gary served as church organist and the effects of the changes were both refreshing and disturbing. He also joined with the local RC church, and worked with the community in its successive homes at Post Green (Sussex, led by Tom Lees), Wargrave, and ?Cumbrae, before returning to the USA. Some of his tunes appear in the largely charismatic collections Sound of Living Waters and Fresh Sounds (1980). No.834.