During his early years, Garyth Nair was fortunate to have the Benedictine Archabbey of St. Vincent just a few miles from his home. The generous monks there permitted him the opportunity to play the abbey organ and learn to sing Gregorian chant. Their generosity, especially that of Rembert Weakland (later Abbot of the monastery, Abbot Prelate of the order and Archbishop of Milwaukee), gave Nair a rich European cultural surrounding in which to begin his musical craft.

Prof. Nair began his vocal and conducting studies at Westminster Choir College, Princeton, NJ, USA where he earned a Bachelor of Music in voice and conducting in 1965. While there, his principal teachers were George Lynn, Nicholas Harsanyi (conducting), Janice Harsanyi (voice), Warren Martin, Julius Herford and Paul Boepple (musicology), and Joan Lippencott (organ). In his senior year, he was the first student in the institution’s history to be appointed Assistant Conductor of the Westminster Choir (1964/65).

Later (1966), at the Tanglewood Institute (Lenox, Massachusetts), he had the opportunity to study orchestral conducting with Sir Adrian Boult, Eric Leinsdorf and Gunter Schuller. The experience with Boult was especially defining as Sir Adrian’s career was just in its twilight and the connection to the musical history of the early and middle 20^th century was an invaluable experience.

Wanting to gain greater historical depth for his work, Prof. Nair then earned an M.A. in musicology at New York University (New York, NY) in 1976. While there, he concentrated on Baroque and Classical performance practice. His principal professors were Gustav Reese, Martin Bernstein and Martin Chusid. His M.A. thesis, The Medieval Portative Organ, was done under the guidance of Gustav Reese.