Photographer Julia Wiese says she got to know Edmonds resident Gary Martin during her morning walks. “Gary, I discovered on one occasion, is an associate professor at the University of Washington. He has had a long-time interest in music, playing a trumpet since his youth.” More recently, Wiese notes, Martin became intrigued with the alphorn, an interest that developed as he researched a trip to Switzerland (that trip was put on hold due to COVID restrictions). “His hobby of wood turning also played a role when he tried his hand at making mouthpieces for an alphorn,” Wiese adds.

In early autumn 2020, Martin met with one of the player-members of the Leavenworth Alphorn Association.”There I was given the opportunity to play a real Alphorn,” Martin says. “It was a transformative moment that led to my participation in the Leavenworth Alphorn Gathering (May 2021) and in purchasing a beautiful Austrian-made alphorn from Heimatklang.”

His interest in the Alphorn inspired Martin to create a website — http://alphorns.com/explore.html — that includes links to alphorn-related information.

Here’s a video, by Wiese, of Gary Martin playing his alphorn