The A-B-Cs of Music with Meredith Gornto

Meredith Gornto has always surrounded herself with music.

It's been a part of her life for as long as she can remember, so it should be no surprise that she finds herself as Creative Greensboro's music and operations coordinator.

In her role she oversees all of the City's music programming, which includes the City's four ensembles (Greensboro Concert Band, Greensboro Big Band, Choral Society of Greensboro, and the Philharmonia of Greensboro), as well as the private music lessons offered at the Greensboro Cultural Center, and the Music for a Sunday Evening in the Park (MUSEP) program.

And on top of that, the operations aspect of her job means that Gornto handles hiring and handling the department's volunteers. It's a busy job, she'll tell you that, but being able to work with creative people like herself? That's the dream.

"I just love getting to meet and know all the music ensemble participants, because those are my people," Gornto said. "I'm a musician myself, so I understand them, I enjoy them, and I like being around them."

If you ask where her love of music comes from, she'd take you back to growing up in the suburbs of Chicago - a city known for its rich, eclectic collection of jazz, rock, hip-hop, and soul music.

Both of Gornto's parents were musically inclined as they both played music and sang, all while supporting her desire to be involved with music. Alongside her parents, there was a great aunt who played a significant influence throughout her childhood - there were many trips taken to see operas and musical theatre, Gornto said.

Gornto first played music at the age of 5, and like many, her first instrument was the piano. As it turned out, she had a natural feel for the ivories, and it helped her in more ways than she could have imagined as a child.

"I think I loved it right away because I was good at it, which made practicing a lot easier," Gornto said with a grin. "It was funny because my mom could always tell when I was having a stressful day because I would go and I would just play a lot of piano that day; it was a stress reliever for me."

In fifth grade Gornto added the flute to her musical repertoire, and in high school she served as the president of her school's band. It was also during this time that Gornto was introduced to a musical composition that changed her life.

"A high school friend invited me to attend a sing-along of Handel's 'Messiah' with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra," Gornto recalled. "It was glorious and made me want to revisit this work annually, whether it be singing it with a group, attending a performance, or whipping out my double CD soundtrack to sing along."

That singular moment had such an impact, that now the Choral Society of Greensboro performs it annually - with this year's performance happening at 7 pm on Tuesday, December 8, at Greensboro College.

By the time Gornto had gotten to college, she found her voice and moved into vocal performance. Gornto would double major in psychology and music in college, though in this case Gornto said the music degree was specifically for "the musician who enjoys it, but won't make a career out of it." It was an ironic thought given she would one day go into a career of arts administration work.

After college Gornto pursued her master's in business administration (MBA) in human resources (HR) and would go on to spend some time in HR before becoming a stay-at-home mom with the birth of her second child. After a stint at home, Gornto decided to jump back into the workforce, but this time determined to flex her musical muscle.

That outlet, she discovered, was Kindermusik. The hours were flexible, and as the mother of young children, she thought it would be fun to teach music to kids - a role she actually participated in until 2021. It was that position that led her into her first role with the City of Greensboro in 2017 as a roster position overseeing the Kindermusik program.

Two years later, in 2019, Gornto's position moved into the then newly formed Creative Greensboro, where she has been ever since. It was also that first year of Creative Greensboro when COVID-19 struck, and the department had to get, pun intended, creative.

"We were able to keep the music programming going during COVID, which was pretty amazing," Gornto said. "We kept our free concerts coming with MUSEP, and we'd stream them from the Van Dyke Performance Space. We had small ensembles instead of large ensembles, so we kept it to no more than 10 people in a space. Most music shut down during COVID, but we did not."

With her work being part-time, Gornto also has the chance to pursue another music-related path that she loves, directing community musical theatre.

During her time in Chicago, Gornto was involved with musical theatre as a pit orchestra musician and accompanist musician, before eventually working herself into the role of music director - teaching vocalists the music.

Her love of theatre followed wherever Gornto and her family lived, and as a resident of Burlington, she has made her musical theatre home with the Alamance Children's Theatre and Studio 1. At the former, Gornto had the opportunity to bond with her daughter, who she led in at least one show a year from the ages of 8 to 18.

Between her behind-the-scenes work with the musical theatre scene in Burlington, her leadership within Creative Greensboro, and her own performance in her church's music programming, Gornto has found herself at home amongst the musicians of Guilford County and beyond.

"It's definitely one of those things that has kept me grounded; I have chosen, and have the ability, to surround myself with music both at work and as a hobby," Gornto said. "I have been fortunate enough to build a world of music around me."