Thursday, October 1, 2026
Gerald Randolph Anders Jr. of Sea Cliff, 82, died on July 11. He enjoyed a life rich in talent, purpose and a ceaseless passion for living, learning and exploring. Gerald was born in Florida to Gerald and Hortense Anders and early on moved with his parents and younger brother, John, to a home on the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia. There his love for the sea was born.
From his very early childhood, Anders had a talent and interest in music. As a young boy, he taught himself to play the piano. His family’s musical and religious background established the foundation for his interest in classical and church music.
Anders was an accomplished classical musician who completed his master’s degree in piano and organ at Ohio State University. After a stint with the Cleveland Orchestra, he moved to NYC, and embarked on what would become a decades-long period building music programs and teaching students, including both young people and adults. Starting as music director at Columbia Grammar and Prep, he then served as the director of Fine and Performing Arts at St Ann’s School and The Dwight Engelwood School.
Teaching is too narrow a word, although teach he did. He exposed students to music, ways of playing, history, musicians, venues and more. Drawing on his knowledge of repertoire and his understanding of individuals’ talents, he constructed concert programs that grew his musicians’ abilities. At CG&P, he arranged for the orchestra to perform at several other NYC schools and for the chamber groups to play at the famed Music Barge. At St Ann’s his expansive vision for possibilities led to a performance based on a 17th century opera that involved a collaboration of the theater and music departments. A colleague commented: “Nobody else would have thought of this or tried it.” Through his teaching, Anders brought people together and created community. He set high standards, joining his deep knowledge, intuitive feel of music, and perceptive understanding of individuals’ abilities.
He was an active, well-known and highly respected organist and choir director in and around New York City. He continuously performed as a church organist and choir director who created and supervised music programs. Drawing on his knowledge not only of music, but of instruments, he oversaw the reconstruction of several organs in those churches, most recently the organ at St Luke’s Episcopal Church in Sea Cliff. As in the schools, his work and presence in churches elevated and inspired his choir members, colleagues, and the churches’ congregations.
Anders met Bruce Castellano, his partner and husband, in 1988 in Brooklyn at an LGBTQ social organization that was founded to educate the community about the AIDS epidemic in safe social settings. Because same-sex marriage was then prohibited in most US states, Anders and Castellano married in 2007 in Toronto, Canada. Despite ongoing legal and epidemic obstacles and hardships, they built a life together, one that was marked by extensive travel throughout Europe.
Anders fell in love with Italy and all things Italian, having established a passion for Italian music, art, culture and food early in his life. His trips to Italy fueled these interests and inspired him to create, organize, oversee and teach at a music exchange program in Tolentino, a village in the Marche province. For eleven summers, he co-created this music study program with Italian music professors, bringing American students and parent chaperones for a full summer of study and rehearsal. At the end of each season, his husband would join him for the student performances after which they would travel throughout Italy and other countries.
His knowledge of the history and construction of classical pianos and organs grew with each visit that he and Castellano made to the various Italian provinces. Through this knowledge and his persistence, he gained access to some of the most famous instruments in the churches, basilicas and cathedrals of Italy, some of which dated back to the seventeenth century. Anders was granted permission to play some of these instruments, fulfilling a lifelong dream. He became a featured guest organist at Santa Dorotea Church in Trastevere, Rome whenever he visited.
He is survived by his brother, John Anders, of Collinsville, Virginia, his husband, Bruce Castellano, of Sea Cliff, and Noel Gurwick, who Gerald informally adopted. A memorial service will be held on Sept. 12 at 11 a.m. at St Luke’s Episcopal Church. Memorial donations in honor of Gerald Anders may be sent to God’s Love We Deliver, PFY/LICC, GLAAD or The Human Rights Campaign
