Gary Rutledge (b 1951, Melbourne Australia) was first introduced to classical music at age 12 when he was selected to sing in the Treble Choir at Caulfield Grammar School. He started piano lessons the next year. He now lives in Perth, Western Australia.
Gary studied piano and composition under concert pianist Max Mackay for 10 years; and following this, he has continued his musical education privately.
In 1970, he began dental studies at Melbourne University. Moving to Western Australia in 1978, Gary worked as a dentist until retiring in 2020. Since retirement, he is devoting his time toward his musical endeavours.
From his early piano lesson days, Gary has been composing steadily and now has a large portfolio of material. As well as recording his own pieces, he writes for Piano, Guitar, Ensembles, Voice and Orchestra.
Over the journey, Gary has received commissions from “ABC New Music”, the “West Australian Youth Orchestra” and radio station RTR FM. As well as for solo instruments, he’s written music for weddings, instrumental ensembles and music theatre. His guitar music has been published in Peter Altmeir-Mort’s “Guitar for Kidz” series, with the piece “Caprice” being selected as part of the Australian Music Examination Board’s guitar syllabus.
There have been numerous performances of Gary’s music, both on the radio and in live situations. These include instrumental ensembles, the “West Australian Guitar Orchestra” and through his recordings, at new music festivals.
Gary also publishes his own music and has designed and typeset numerous other music books for publication.