ERICH HOYT Background

Born: Sept. 28, 1950, in Akron.
Residence: A dual citizen of the United States and Canada -- has lived in North Berwick, Scotland, since September 1989.
Parents: Betty Shutrump Hoyt of Youngstown and the late Robert Emmet Hoyt of Phoenix.
Siblings: Eldest of five. Three sisters: Gerard E. Hoyt and Victoria Hoyt, both of Phoenix, and Karres Cvetkovich of Youngstown; one brother, the late Douglass Hoyt.
Education: Attended Campion Jesuit High School in Prairie du Chien, Wis.; graduated from South High School, Youngstown. Just before his 18th birthday, left home to help found progressive & quot;free & quot; school ( & quot;Superschool & quot;) in Toronto; accepted to New York University Film School but did not attend.
Occupations: Author, marine naturalist/researcher and environmental consultant/lecturer. Currently senior research associate with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS), co-director of the Far East Russia Orca Project, and a member of a number of conservation and scientific boards in various countries.
Family: Married to Dr. Sarah E. Wedden, a developmental biologist and senior scientist at the Medical Research Council in Edinburgh, Scotland; and four children: Moses, 13; Magdalen, 10; Jasmine, 8; and Max,3.
Of note: Self-taught musician: guitar, autoharp, bass, harmonica, piano, electronic synthesizer. In his 20s studied classical piano at Royal Conservatory in Canada. Still plays piano and guitar almost every day; eldest son Moses is a drummer, and eldest daughter Magdalen a singer-violinist.
Source: Erich Hoyt