Gerald McGee was appointed Portland's eighth municipal organist on May 2, 1983, out of a pool of two dozen applicants. He had earned a Master of Sacred Music Degree from Union Theological Seminary's School of Sacred Music in New York City.
While in Portland, McGee was an active recitalist and teacher, serving on the faculties of both Bowdoin College and the University of Southern Maine.
In addition to bringing new and outstanding talent to perform during the summer organ series, McGee also sought to involve as much local talent as possible, including instrumentalists from the Portland Symphony Orchestra.
He also opened a new genre of entertainment in Portland when he brought Dennis James, a noted theater organist, to Portland to accompany silent films.
Because of expanding responsibilities in other areas of his professional life, McGee resigned his position in March 1988.
Listen to Gerald McGee in a recording made July 6, 1984 play the finale of "Carillon de Westminster" by Louis Vierne on the Kotzschmar Memorial Organ:
