John Stump:  

Much to everyone¿s surprise, I¿m sure, I went into music. Went to Cal State Hayward, graduated in ¿72 and went to Juilliard to get an M.M. and a D.M.A in organ and piano. I stayed in the New York area playing and teaching for 30 years. While at Juilliard, I met my first partner, JuanCarlos, from Argentina.. We had about 5 years together before he got liver cancer and went pretty fast. I soon met my second partner, Jacobo, another Latino (hence my ability to now speak Spanish in spite of having nearly failed it in High School), in 1980 and we have been together ever since. We were getting tired of NY and after 911 we decided we wanted to leave NY. Jacobo had been retired for 5 years, I had been working two full time jobs, teaching and playing, and was about to burn out. I was ready for a change. My parents were in need of help, if they were to continue living in their own home, so we sold everything in NY and the condo in Florida and moved to Rossmoor in Walnut Creek, CA to be near my parents. I got a job playing for a large church and taught very part-time at Hayward. When things got difficult at the job, I just decided it was time to call it quits at the age of 55, rather than have another political in-fight over matters of style. Jacobo had also gotten cancer after moving to C...Expand for more