PEOPLE OF INTEREST
People
What people don’t know about me: “l was a business and
finance newspaper reporter in Washington, D.C., with an
expertise in municipal finance and the former Glass-Steagall
Act. I also enjoy any water sport.”
“
My parents taught
us to put our best effort
into everything we did.”
— Gretchen Cover
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beginning to introduce the instrument in the U.S., and had a
two-year waiting list for buyers. The company was showing
its wares in Alexandria, Va.
“I talked my dad into buying one, which was like buying a
BMW if you’re a 22-year-old kid,” Cover said.
For three years, she took harp lessons at the Peabody
Institute, a music conservatory affiliated with Johns Hopkins
University in Baltimore, but later put the harp aside due to
the demands of job and family. After journalism, she worked
as operations director for her husband’s fundraising consulting
business, The Sheridan Group.
The family moved to Vero Beach in 1999 when telecommuting
made it possible for Cover to work from home. Her
parents, now deceased, still lived in Brevard County. She and
her husband, Nelson, preferred the lower population density
of Indian River County.
“We also wanted to be close to my parents’ orbit, but not
too close,” Cover said.
In Vero Beach, Cover continued to work for Sheridan and
also did volunteer work for Hibiscus Children’s Center. Then,
about a half-dozen years ago, concert pianist Marcos Flores,
director of worship arts at Christ by the Sea United Methodist
Church, got wind about someone in town who owned a harp.
“He collects musicians like some people collect stamps,”
Cover said. “He started nagging me to play.”
At first, she was so reluctant to perform that she hired
another harpist to play for the church’s Christmas and Easter
cantatas. Then, for her 60th birthday, she bought a concert
grand harp from Italy and started to perform.
She has had no shortage of invitations to play, especially at
Christmas time.
GRETCHEN COVER
Age: 66
Lives in: Vero Beach
Occupation: Musician
Family: Husband, Nelson Jr.,
and son, Nelson III.
Education: Satellite Beach High
School, 1970, and University of
Florida, 1974, with a bachelor’s
degree in journalism with a
minor in applied harp.
What inspires me: “The adventure of pursuit and accomplishing
my goal.”
People
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