2008 Woodie Awards
Eagle of the Week: Ray Salucka
Isaac Bandfield
Issue date: 3/23/06 Section: Feature
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Ray Salucka has directed choral activities at Kirkwood for the past nine years but he's only sung for 15 of the 40 years he's been a musician.
"I actually started college as a piano performance major with a jazz emphasis," he said.
Piano has been a major part of Salucka's life since he was a first-grader growing up in Rockford, Ill. Among his earliest memories is a moment in his childhood when he tried to play 'Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah' on the piano.
During high school, Salucka worked as a jazz pianist and accompanied his school's choir. One day, during choir auditions, he realized his musical gifts extended beyond the piano.
The director approached the shy pianist and said he wanted Salucka in the choir, not just on the piano. "He pulled me out and asked me to sing, 'America, the Beautiful'," said Salucka, "so I started singing softly and he told me, 'No, sing it like a man!' So I sang it like an opera singer and I got in."
After discovering his voice and the experience of singing in a choir, Salucka decided he would be happier as a choral conductor than a pianist. "The idea of practicing [the piano] six to seven hours a day by myself just didn't appeal to me. I am much more comfortable working on music with a small group," he said.
But when he's not in front of a choir, Salucka is actually quiet and withdrawn.
"You know how in middle school you were afraid to sit by yourself in the lunchroom? That is how I have felt my entire adult life. Music is my outlet to be who I really am," he said.
"I actually started college as a piano performance major with a jazz emphasis," he said.
Piano has been a major part of Salucka's life since he was a first-grader growing up in Rockford, Ill. Among his earliest memories is a moment in his childhood when he tried to play 'Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah' on the piano.
During high school, Salucka worked as a jazz pianist and accompanied his school's choir. One day, during choir auditions, he realized his musical gifts extended beyond the piano.
The director approached the shy pianist and said he wanted Salucka in the choir, not just on the piano. "He pulled me out and asked me to sing, 'America, the Beautiful'," said Salucka, "so I started singing softly and he told me, 'No, sing it like a man!' So I sang it like an opera singer and I got in."
After discovering his voice and the experience of singing in a choir, Salucka decided he would be happier as a choral conductor than a pianist. "The idea of practicing [the piano] six to seven hours a day by myself just didn't appeal to me. I am much more comfortable working on music with a small group," he said.
But when he's not in front of a choir, Salucka is actually quiet and withdrawn.
"You know how in middle school you were afraid to sit by yourself in the lunchroom? That is how I have felt my entire adult life. Music is my outlet to be who I really am," he said.