A fire has destroyed Tanya and Gerald Carey’s family home, along with instruments and personal items
A fundraiser has been launched for a musician couple in the Chicago area who have lost their home to a fire, including a 1704 Giuseppe Guarneri ‘filius Andreae’ cello.
Tanya and Gerald Carey’s house was destroyed on 5 September 2026, after a fire broke out in their music room. The couple lost their piano, cellos, flutes, as well as music, teaching tools and recordings. Additionally, they lost personal artefacts such as artwork, family heirloom furniture and mementos.
Their daughter Tamera, who set up the fundraiser, says that her parents are safe and staying with friends. She writes: ’At ages 87 and 89, they now face the enormous task of trying to rebuild both their daily lives and the musical centre of their home. This loss is not only financial. It is also personal and historic. There is no way to replace my mom’s 1704 Guarneri cello from Cremona, Italy, or the lifelong bond and identity she built with that instrument.’
Tanya Carey, an artist-teacher at Roosevelt University CCPA and the Music Institute of Chicago, is the author of Cello Playing Is Easy. The fund aims to finance a reprint of the book so that it can once again be made available for purchase.
Funds will also go towards daily living essentials, insurance deductibles and the immediate costs of getting their lives back together. Support will also help with long-term relocation, expenses connected to completing the investigation, salvaging or replacing music and replacing instruments where possible.
The fundraiser aims to raise $40,000. At the time of publication, over $23,000 has been raised.
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