Gaylen – Rose Sales (nee Hendey) was born in Pretoria and started piano lessons at the age of six and harp lessons at the age of ten with Moya Wright and later with Rosalind Dunbar. She matriculated at the Pro Arte High School and later obtained a B Mus degree in Performing Arts at the University of the Witwatersrand. Her main instruments were harp and organ which she studied under Kathleen Alistair and Prof. Henk Temmingh respectively.

She has performed as soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra, Pro-Musica Orchestra, Transvaal Philharmonic Orchestra and more recently with the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of South Africa. As an orchestral player has made appearances with NAPAC, PACOFS, NSO and toured South America with the Junior SABC orchestra. In 1983 she joined a Greek choir at the Athens Music Festival as the harpist.

Gaylen has been the recipient of many awards and bursaries, including the Unisa Buy-Aid Bursary (1981), the SAMRO Undergraduate Music Bursary (1982-1984), the Olga Lipman Bursary (1982,1984, 1985). From 1986-1988 she worked as repetiteur and Principal Harpist for PACOFS. In 1993 she joined the Transvaal Philharmonic Orchestra (later known as The New Arts Philharmonic Orchestra of Pretoria) as Principal Harpist until its closure.

She is married and has three sons who keep her on her toes between teaching, freelance work and currently serves as Principal Harpist for the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of South Africa

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