Gerald Mirate; Retired Pianist

Gerald Mirate, a classical pianist who performed for a Chatsworth ballet school for a decade, has died in Sylmar. He was 81.

Mirate, a longtime Sylmar resident, died Saturday of a heart attack after years of heart and lung complications, his nurse said.

Born Sept. 30, 1908, in Schenectady, N.Y., Mirate started playing piano at age 7. In his 20s, he studied at Juilliard School of Music and performed weekly concerts in New York City and Albany, N.Y., during the 1930s. He came to California in 1942 and moved the following year to Glendale, where he tuned pianos and taught music lessons.

Mirate also wrote classical music, which he played during classes and performances of the Rozann-Zimmerman Ballet Center in Chatsworth from the late 1960s until his retirement in the mid-1980s. He was a longtime member of the Elks Club.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Greena Mirate; a son, Frank Mirate of Sylmar; and four grandchildren.

A Mass will be celebrated at 9 a.m. Wednesday at St. Didacus Catholic Church, 14339 Astoria St., in Sylmar. Burial will follow at San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills. Utter McKinley Mortuary in Mission Hills is handling the arrangements.