Gérard Spencer is a musician born in Luxembourg in 1987, and brought up in Brussels. His interest in music started quite late: he was 12 when he saw the film ‘The Pianist’ from Roman Polanski, and heard for the 1st time the Ballade n°1 Op.23 from Frederic Chopin. He instantly adored that piece and dreamed of one day being able to play it. A few months later he started playing piano… and accomplished his childhood dream by playing this piece 9 years later. Today, his interest in music is very diverse as it will range from Folk, Classical, Jazz, World and Variety to Rock music.
Gérard considered studying piano at the Brussels Royal Conservatory of Music, taking a gap year after passing his European Baccalaureate to prepare the entrance examination; but he eventually decided to go to university. It was while studying for his postgraduate degree in Cardiff (UK) that a magical and life changing moment occurred. In October 2009, Gérard went to London for a weekend, and discovered the Hang being played by Italian player Luca Bertelli while walking along the south bank. What a revelation, what a gorgeous sound… it was love at first sight! Gérard instantly felt a deep and powerful connection to this strange looking instrument – he was completely mesmerized by the soothing and mystical sounds it produced. He started researching more about the Hang. The more he researched, the more passionate he became. One thing became clear to him: he dreamed of being able to play one of his own and to create his own musical and inspirational universe… and thus began his Hang quest! (Obtaining a Hang is a true challenge, view the ‘How to purchase a Hang’ page for additional information).
The discovery of the Hang also opened the doors to (re)discovering and getting interested in many other instruments from all around the world: percussions such as the Djembe or the Cajon, Tibetan bells and singing bowls, the Didgeridoo, native flutes, the jews harp, the Shruti box and many more!
It was in Paris, in September 2011, that his quest ended when a wonderful 1st generation Jazz scale Hang found him, making his second dream come true!
After finishing his degree in Cardiff, Gérard took a break to travel and volunteer in India and Israel. Following this, he worked in the European Parliament and then moved to England where he launched an educational related social enterprise: EUROPEDUCATION. In his spare time, Gérard sometimes did some street performances and played in various events, and slowly realized that he actually loved doing this – the public being very receptive to his self-taught technical yet melodious and enchanting playing style.
In April 2013, Gérard stopped working on his company and decided to go full time into music. Today, he travels extensively and performs internationally for all kind of events as well as through street shows. In the same way as a modern day Troubadour, Gérard shares his music and his passion for making dreams come true everywhere he goes.
His basic life philosophy goes as follows: “believe in your dream, work hard on it, and it will become reality. And when it becomes reality, just find another one to continue dreaming! Hang-on-to-your-dreams!“