Bill Gilday

Bill Gilday, Yellowknife, NT, (photo © NNSL.com) — Bill Gilday, Yellowknife, NT, 2008 (photo courtesy Tyler Heal)

Bill Gilday has lived a life full of passion for his music, his family and his role as a music educator.

In his early years of playing music in Ontario, Bill became an accomplished Trombonist performing in Swing, Dixieland and pop bands as well as with the London Symphony.

As with many a musician’s story in the Musicians of the Midnight Sun collection, a series of serendipitous circumstances lined up for Bill to fall in love in and with the north where he met his wife and life partner, Cindy.

Bill went on to influence generations of youth over the decades with his ambitious choir program at Sir John Franklin High School and the choir and band programs at Mildred Hall Elementary school in Yellowknife.

He and Cindy raised their daughters Leela and Carla and their son Jay in a rich, musical environment.

Both Leela and Jay have become distinguished professional musicians / singer songwriters on the Canadian music scene and Carla, a fine vocalist herself, an accomplished artist and graphic designer.

His interest in Canadian folk music led to the founding of “The Gumboots”, a six-piece group of vocalists and musicians that featured Bill’s vocal arrangements of classic Canadian folk song as well as their original songs. “The Gumboots” played innumerable live shows on stages in northern and southern Canada and recorded 4 CDs//albums over a remarkable 25 year run.

Bill’s passion and hard work over the last 50 years of raising his family, teaching and performing music in the north is a laudable legacy unto itself that continues to grow with the creative and professional accomplishments of his children.