While some might see her "handicap" as a challenge, Mary Grace Gallekanao has come to look upon it as God's purpose.When you listen to her playing the piano, you
are left with no doubt that she's been given a divine gift.It's there to inspire others.
Mary Grace Gallekanao (Photos by John G. Miller)
She was born in the Philippines.She
has a stub for a right arm, her right leg is smaller -- eight inches shorter --
than her left.She wears a platform
orthopedic shoe on her right foot to help her walk normally.She has said she had a very difficult time
growing up because of how she looks, asking why she doesn't have a right hand
like everyone else, asking herself what she did to deserve being born that way.
But Mary Grace went on to college and earned a degree in psychology, finding
friends there for the first time in her life.Perhaps her greatest gift -- which was displayed Saturday at the Wasatch
Hills Seventh-day Adventist Church in Salt Lake City -- is on the piano.It is there where her "handicap"
becomes not an example of an imperfection, but an example of a grand
design.On the piano, she plays the
melody of complex pieces of music with what she calls a fleshy protrusion at
the tip of the stub that is the perfect size to fit one key.She plays chords with her left hand, crossing
over when the chords are in the higher keys.
The speed and dexterity that's demanded in the music she plays does not
suffer.She can interpret music with a
master's touch.
"If the stub were any longer or shorter, it would be hard for me to
play the piano," she told her audience Saturday."I know that I was created for a
purpose.Each and every one of us is
special in the Lord's sight."
Mary Grace said there have been several people who wanted to introduce her
to the world, she could have made a lot of money with her talent and have
anything she wanted.But, she added,
there were two conditions:she could not
mention anything about God in her performances, nor the two ministries she is
so passionate about (Help-the-Needy Inc., and Adopt-a-MinisterInternational).They only wanted her to
talk about herself and what she can do.
"I had to turn them down because I know it's not about me now.It's about God," she said."And it's not about what I can do, but
what God can do through me.
"The Lord has blessed me more than money could ever hope for."
Mary Grace has given concerts around the world -- in Guam, Europe, Korea,
Japan, the Philippines, Canada, and the United States.
She ended her talk with some words of inspiration.
"Surrender our lives and He will surely work wonders.I hope that, no matter what's going on around
us, we would always focus our eyes on the cross, and one day -- when all is
said and done -- we could say we have run the race, we have finished the
course, we have kept the faith."
If you listen for a guitar playing during the music accompanying the
classic comedy series “Seinfeld" or “Married... With Children," you can
hear him.
If you’ve spent a fair amount of time listening to the
music of jazz fusion artists like Jean-Luc Ponty or Lenny White, or if
you’ve listened to The Manhattan Transfer’s 1991 release “The Offbeat of
Avenues” or some of rocker Bryan Adams’ best work, there’s a good
chance you’ve heard his guitar skills there as well.
Jamie Glaser plays guitar with jazz fusion legend Jean-Luc Ponty.
The player you’d be listening for is Jamie Glaser,
who’s been known as a top session guitarist for many years with credits
including work with Chick Corea and Chaka Khan as well, just to name a
few. He’s played live in front of audiences around the world. He can be
found via YouTube on an old video from The Tonight Show with Manhattan
Transfer. He’s done a lot in his musical career, continuing his
playing/recording/producing/directing/teaching career from his base
between Salt Lake City and Provo, Utah -- far from the faster life he
once knew in places like Los Angeles or his roots in New York City.
With
that kind of history on his resume, you’d think the achievement he’s
most proud of would have to do with his accomplishments as a musician.
But what he’s actually most proud of is surviving a disorder – manic
depression – that’s plagued him in the lowest points of his life,
through poverty and homelessness, bringing about behaviors that made
even those who were closest to him question whether he was a drug
addict.
Glaser is most proud of surviving a disorder that’s taken
the lives of other gifted musicians through their own manic behaviors
(how is it that some of the most gifted artists have been known to
suffer from bipolar disorder and done so much creative work given the
“genius” tag in their lives?) and going on to encourage others to get
the help that they need as well.
He’s doing it again through the recent republishing of his book, "Hear The Silence,"
in online form. It’s a book that’s far from a “typical musician’s bio”
with tales of celebrity antics. In fact, it really doesn’t cover much of
his musical life at all, only giving brief references to his
experiences in the spotlight more as a way of showing the highest highs
he’s seen in his life before sinking to the lowest lows.
“The one
thing that I hope that is my legacy is the book I wrote, celebrating
life, and inspiring others who may be depressed, are bipolar, suffer
mental illness, just down in general with lessons I’ve learned and that
have me celebrating life from morning ‘til night 365 days a year,”
Glaser says in a post on his Facebook page.
The thought of
“hearing the silence” is first mentioned in his experiences dating back
to Glaser’s days at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, where he went to
see a teacher and – in the quiet darkness of the teacher’s room – was
asked to describe the sounds that were around him, finally dawning on
him that there was much more going on around him than what little was
happening in that room.
“He continued telling me he would teach me
to notice these sounds, to know how to find them, to use them musically
and in my life,” Glaser writes of that lesson that’s stayed with him
through his life. “I believe it is this lesson that has given me a life
like few others. I believe this lesson has given me a career like few
others. And, most importantly, it is this lesson that got me through my
horrible, painful experience with bipolar disorder.
“… Learn to ‘Hear the Silence’ and you will learn one of the greatest secrets there are to enlighten and fulfill your life!!”
Jamie Glaser flies in a guitar solo.
With
those words, the first chapter of the book is complete and the stage is
set for Glaser to tell the rest of his story. It tells a story of …
Having
a young man with cerebral palsy – who could only speak by pointing at
letters one at a time – helping Glaser to appreciate the beauty and
goodness that surrounded him instead of being angry and bitter.
Days
when he was known more as a “maniac” – throwing paychecks for his
television work out the window of a moving car on a San Diego freeway,
spending money and traveling aimlessly.
Spending long periods of time not wanting to get out of his bed or leave his home due to fear or depression.
The people who cared about Glaser, recognized he needed help, and guided him through his own personal darkness.
Traumatic experiences that helped to trigger some of his deepest bouts with depression.
Glaser’s
spiritual beliefs, animal friends, a beloved children’s television show
that all helped to lift and keep him out of his depression.
Advising those who may be experiencing their own personal darkness on how they can pull themselves back into the light.
It’s
part musician memoirs with deeply personal insights into self-help and
motivation along the lines of Tony Robbins or Wayne Dyer, two of
Glaser’s favorite motivational figures. It’s a combination that makes
for an engaging, uplifting read.
Glaser tells his story in a style
that puts his personality on display. As you read it, imagine sitting
in a restaurant that serves New York-style pizza as Glaser talks to you
across the table with his own New York flavor. There’s honesty and
heartfelt passion in his words. And as anyone who’s gotten acquainted
with him in person or on social media can attest, he’s looking to help
others more than he’s looking to help himself.
“Hear the beautiful
symphony in the silence,” Glaser says in the final chapter. “Play
life’s gorgeous melodies over and over. May the songs of this beautiful
existence be always at the top of the charts for you.”
