Staff Bios for the 2010 Intensive
George Bennett was raised at J. g. Bennett's experimental spiritual community at Coombe Springs, near London. After receiving a master's degree in American history he attended the third course at Bennett's academy at Sherborne, Gloucestershire, England. George spent seven years as an international truck driver, before working for twenty years as a journalist and the co-owner of a magazine publishing business. He trained as a teacher in 2000 and for two years worked in a north London primary school. For the past six years he has been employed as a teacher at the Village School, an elementary school set up twenty years ago by Miller's River Educational Cooperative, a Gurdjieff-Bennett group in Massachusetts. George has been involved in many Work seminars in Europe and the USA and in 2006 helped to run a three-month course at Camp Caravan in Massachusetts. George is married to osteopath Ana Bennett, and has five children.
Nanji Davison - was a student of J. G. Bennett on the fourth course at Sherborne House, England in 1974 and has been an active member of the Massachusetts group since 1977. She is the treasurer of the Millers River Educational Cooperative, and a trained scientist and Master Gardener. She was the first art teacher at the Village School. In addition to Gurdjieff/Bennett Work, she has studied Dzogchen with Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche, Chod with Lama Tsultrim Allione, Vipassana meditation with S.N.Goenka and various teachers at IMS, and attempts to work cooperatively with nature spirits in her garden and her art.
John Hutcherson accidentally attended Mr. Bennett's 4th Way school at Sherborne, England in 1974/75. From 1975 to 1981 "Hutch" was on staff and directed practical work for a similar school established by Mr. Bennett at Claymont Court in West Virginia. From 1981 to the present John has had a succession of teachers and contacts with various traditions including Sufi, Buddhist, Hindu, Shamanic, Kebzeh and uncategorizable influences. He has led 4th way study groups both in the U.S. and in Costa Rica for much of that time. Along with Nanji Davison and Ellen Arrison he is currently conducting an on-line preparatory group for Intensive participants and other interested students. His professional life has covered the gamut from business consulting, computer programming, construction management, massage therapy, truck driving, bartending, facilities management, technical writing, up to his current occupation of web developer. He is currently web master for the MREC web sites in addition to several other non-profit organizations and sites for his commercial clients.
John Richardson obtained his Ph.D. in astrophysics from M.I.T in 1976 and spent
several years in a post-doctoral position before participating in the fourth
course at Claymont, a Fourth Way School founded by J.G.Bennett. He is one of
the founding members of Millers River Educational Cooperative, a non-profit
corporation representing the Fourth Way community established in North Central
Massachusetts, and is currently the president. He resides with his wife on a
150 acre farm where they raise sheep and produce maple syrup, among other
things. He works in a small computer software consulting company which he helped
establish in 1981.
Elan Sicroff received his musical training at the Juilliard School with Jeaneane Dowis, at the Oberlin Conservatory with John Perry, and with the musician-critic Jeremy Siepmann in England. In 1972 Elan met J. G. Bennett at the International Academy for Continuous Education in Sherborne, Gloucestershire, England. He participated as a student on a 10-month “Basic Course” dedicated to providing tools for inner work to last a lifetime; and then stayed on as staff in the capacity of Music Director for two more years. Through Mr. Bennett, Elan was introduced to Olga de Hartmann, widow of the composer Thomas de Hartmann, who had composed a large body of sacred music from the East with Gurdjieff between 1915 and 1929. Mme. de Hartmann invited him to perform at McGill University in Montreal in 1975, and she guided his musical interpretation until her death in 1979. During this period she facilitated a number of Elan’s recitals of her husband’s music, both the sacred music written in collaboration with Gurdjieff, and that written in the modern idiom. From 1977-1983 Elan lived at Claymont Court in West Virginia, a Fourth Way community set up by J. G. Bennett shortly before his death in 1974. Here Elan taught music and promoted the musical work of de Hartmann and Gurdjieff, which he continues to do today.
Follow this link for an insightful interview with Elan.
Click the YouTube link below for a sample performance by Elan.
Walter Thornton was a student of J.G Bennett on the fourth basic course of the International Academy for Continuous Education at Sherborne House in 1974 and has been an active member of the Central Massachusetts Group since 1977. He is the vice president of the Millers River Educational Cooperative and was a staff member for an eight month residential course sponsored by MREC in 1990. In his professional life, he is a structural engineer specializing in the facade repair and restoration of historic buildings. Recently, he has been overseeing the continuing renovations of the existing buildings at Camp Caravan. He is also a member of the Village School Board of Directors and is a member of the design and construction team for the new Village School building at Camp Caravan.