For more info: www.garysharpe.com Gary was born in Keswick Ridge, near Fredericton, New Brunswick. He started playing the piano in church from the age of 12. Gary attended Fredericton High School, and graduated from University of New Brunswick in 1989, with a degree in Civil Engineering. After university, in January 1989, he packed up and moved to Toronto, where he found an engineering job and friends at Richview Baptist Church in Etobicoke. In 1996, Gary made the leap of faith to leave his career in highway design and attend seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. There he earned a Masters Degree in Music, majoring in classical piano (‘99). While living in Louisville, Gary played in the band at Southeast Christian Church. While studying in Kentucky, Grandview Baptist Church of Kitchener, Ontario called Gary to a position as Pastor of Worship Ministries, which he accepted in spring of 1999. These were years of learning for Gary, as the congregation grew to about 1600 by 2007. A highlight was the development of “The Easter Story”, which attracted thousands bi-annually to see a dramatic reenactment of the life of Jesus. In February of 2008, Gary accepted a new position as “Director of International Projects” with International Teams of Canada (www.iteams.ca). He is a project manager for approximately 25 international development projects in 7 countries, which affect the lives of refugees, orphans and street children all over the world. About the CD In early 2007, Gary began writing songs for a CD project, which would become “Change the World”. One year in recording and production, “Change the World” will be released in September of 2008. The song “Bleed” was the first radio release from the CD – it has reached CanCon top-ten charts across the country. “Change the World” was produced by Andrew Horrocks of AME Studios in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Nine of the ten songs are original compositions. Three of the songs were co-written with Nathan Byle of Lucerin Blue, and some of the songs are inspired by Gary’s international work, and his desire to see followers of Christ engage in helping the poor around the world.