Faculty Guest - Dick Ray

Next up: Dick Ray, PMAC's guest conductor for the fall session of the Portsmouth Men's Chorus. Formerly the choral director at Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, Dick has a long and interesting history as a musician, including being the leader of the well known rock band, The Spectras.

Name a musician who is relatively unknown, but whose work you think everyone should hear. Name examples of recordings if possible.
Bobby McFerrin is a singer/composer who is relatively unknown and if people do know of him, it may only be through his 1988 Top 40 hit “Don’t Worry Be Happy,” but you really don’t get the full picture of this man’s capabilities from that one song. He is perhaps the most amazing vocal artist I have had the pleasure of hearing in the past 40 years. His live, one-man concerts are jaw-dropping. He has the ability to sing a bass line, accompaniment, and melodic line all at the same time one note at a time but arranged so cleverly that you can’t believe all that music is coming from just one set of vocal chords.
To become further aquainted with his work I would recommend listening to two albums: Voice and Spontaneous Inventions. You’re in for a real treat!

Who was your most important/inspiring teacher/mentor and why?
Without a doubt, my most important music teacher and mentor was my father. He was not a trained musician or a singer, but what he imparted to me through years of personal example was that music was fun, it could be something you can do your whole life, and it can be approached on a lot of different skill levels for enjoyment. He taught my brothers and me how to sing vocal harmonies and to be part-independent when we were not yet in first grade! As we grew older, it became a family tradition to ‘bring out the books’ after dinner and sing four-part men choral arrangements. This simple love of the choral art was deeply etched on my soul by my dad, and I have tried to pass that tradition on to my two sons and daughter as well. It all started with a man who loved to sing.

What was the most unusual performance you've given? Or most unusual venue you've performed at?
I think the most unusual performance I ever gave was in the summer of 1968 when my rock band, The Spectras, opened for the Beach Boys at the Hampton Beach Casino. There were over 6,000 people jammed shoulder to shoulder on the floor, so that when you looked out at the crowd from the stage, all you saw was a floating sea of heads. It felt like we were on a bobbing life raft, and before long I actually began to experience some motion sickness! I looked over at the other guys in the band and they were looking a little green also! But we put on our stage face and drove on through the set without getting sick.

At what age did you decide to become a professional musician or artist? How did you come to that decision?
I was 17 years old and a freshman at UNH majoring in Chemical Engineering. I could do the science and the math, but I just felt that I wasn’t emotionally invested in that career path. I wanted to be two things – for the near term, I wanted to be a touring rock and roll star, and for the long term I wanted to be a high school music teacher. The rock star thing actually came to fruition on a regional level. As I look back at that experience, it was simply a way to feed my giant teenage ego and to get girls to notice me. The teaching thing went much deeper. I had had some wonderful high school music teachers, and I wanted to pass that experience on to other high school kids.

What is your favorite movie about an artist or musician?
I think my favorite movie about a musician is “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” probably because I feel like I’m watching my own life story when I see that film. I love the way he begins teaching music as a way to make ends meet while pursuing a career in another aspect of music (composing), but is slowly drawn in to the wonder and beauty of teaching music to high school kids. In the end he realizes that as he retires, the thousands of students he has taught over his career are his most important opus, and will have far more impact on the future than any composition he might have written. It can be a bit corny in spots, but on the whole, for me, it is deeply meaningful.