Gilmore was born in
Wheeling, West Virginia, to Everett Gilmore, Sr. and his wife Elizabeth, the eldest child of three brothers. He began studying music with
piano lessons while in elementary school, his interest in music inspired by Elizabeth, who was a classically-trained pianist. In junior high, Gilmore began playing the
trombone and continued performing on that instrument through college, the Army Bands, a career with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and into retirement. Gilmore attended
George Williams College and
Lebanon Valley College as a double major, receiving bachelor's degrees in both psychology and music. After his undergraduate schooling, Gilmore joined the
United States Army Field Band in Washington, D.C. The tuba section included two musicians who became professional tubists with major symphony orchestras: Gilmore and Ronald Bishop, tubist for the
Cleveland Orchestra under
George Szell. Gilmore volunteered for the opportunity to transfer to the NORAD Command Band located in
Colorado Springs, Colorado. Once his military commitment was fulfilled, he left the NORAD Band and earned a Master of Arts in library science from the
University of Denver and worked for the Denver area public libraries. He soon won the audition for and performed with the
Wichita Symphony Orchestra for two years. In May 1965, he won the principal tuba position in the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, where he played for thirty years until his retirement in 1995. He studied tuba performance with Charles Guzsikoff of the
Philadelphia Orchestra,
William Bell of the
New York Philharmonic and
Arnold Jacobs of the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The Music Directors of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra during Gilmore’s tenure included
Donald Johanos,
Anshel Brusilow,
Max Rudolf,
Eduardo Mata and
Andrew Litton. Gilmore continued his wide-ranging interests in music during his years with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. He was the founder of several ensembles outside the orchestra. He was a charter member of The Dallas Symphony Brass Quintet, which recorded on Crystal Records. Gilmore's colleagues in the quintet were David Battey, horn; John Kitzman, trombone; Bert Truax and
Richard Giangiulio, trumpets. He was a co-founder of TUBACHRISTMAS concerts in both Dallas and Fort Worth. These two annual events have been among the most successful of TUBACHRISTMAS performances across the nation. Gilmore was a leader in forming the Texas Tuba Quartet and later the Dallas Tuba Quartet, writing and arranging much of the music in those early days of the tuba quartet. He was also a charter member of the Texas Wind Symphony, which was conducted by Ray Lichtenwalter. In addition to being a performer and an educator, Gilmore was a music copyist; he produced handwritten scores and parts for many composers and arrangers, including
Alberto Ginastera, Phil Kelly,
Tom Merriman and
Robert Xavier Rodriguez. Throughout his career, Gilmore was a Miraphone tuba artist.
Personal life Gilmore married Mary Crisp in 1977. They had one daughter. == Music influence ==