By Laura Lane
"My dad was a jazz trumpet player who made some records in big bands. He worked his way through medical school playing music," said Ralske, 47. "When I was around 5, my brother and I had a great time playing on his old instruments. My brother ended up taking up the trumpet in the fourth grade, and I decided on the French horn."
Music was important to Ralske's parents. They gave all of their children piano lessons when they turned 5 because, Erik said, "my parents believed music was part of our education."
When the four Ralske children entered Park Avenue Elementary school, they not only played the piano, but also were familiar with classical music. Erik's parents were New York Philharmonic subscribers, as was his grandmother.
Ralske attributes much of his decision to pursue a music career to his teachers at Park Avenue, Jerusalem Middle School and Mepham. "If I didn't have the opportunity to play and the encouragement to play by our band director at Park Avenue, I probably wouldn't have ended up playing the horn," said Ralske. "I got support and encouragement, because they recognized my talent."
Ralske began taking French horn lessons in ninth grade. He learned about the Huntington Training Orchestra, a professional youth orchestra, through his teacher, who had founded the organization. Ralske joined the group when he started 10th grade. "Mepham had a strong musical program when I went there," he said. "There are three other guys who graduated with me that have gone on to successful professional musical careers."
Mepham, however, didn't have an orchestra at the time, which was the reason Ralske joined the Huntington Training Orchestra. "Strings weren't cool to play, so there weren't enough kids for a regular-sized orchestra" at Mepham, he said. "Joining the Huntington Training Orchestra gave me an orchestra to play with, but also made me realize that I wanted to be a musician. These kids I played with loved classical music as much as I did."
At 18, Ralske auditioned for the Juilliard School of Music in Manhattan, but didn't make the cut. Undaunted, he continued private lessons and studied at SUNY-Purchase for two years. He then auditioned at Juilliard a second time, and was accepted. He graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in music.
Now in his 11th year with the Philharmonic, Ralske said his success didn't come overnight. "There are orchestras on many levels, and I was in every level before the Philharmonic," he said. "Being in music is very competitive, and you have to be driven. On my college application, I had said I wanted to play with the Philharmonic. For me, this is a dream come true."
Ralske also maintains an active schedule as a soloist, chamber musician and recording artist. He has performed on several movie soundtracks, including "Platoon," "Kinsey," "Hitch" and "The Manchurian Candidate."
Ralske is also on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music and the Mannes College of Music. And he teaches private lessons 10 to 12 hours a week.
Even with such a busy schedule, when a request arrived from the Nassau-Suffolk Performing Arts, a non-profit organization for student musicians on Long Island, to perform as a soloist with them at the Tilles Center, Ralske agreed. "I'm at a point in my career where I want to give back," he said. "I remember not too long ago being the same age as these kids, with the same dreams. These kids have a great reputation, too."
Ralske said that the student-musicians, including players from the Merricks and Bellmores, came highly recommended by his colleagues who had performed with them at the Tilles Center. He said that when he rehearsed with the teenagers, he was impressed by their high caliber of musicianship. "It's great to play with kids to show them, hey, you can do this, too, Ralske said. "Rehearsing with these kids was great."
Ralske said that success as a musician often depends on being at the right place at the right time. He also believes the road to success can be painful. But he said the gamble is worth it. "If I could give kids who want to go into music any advice at all, it would be to dream your dreams and don't give up," he said. "Along with that, find the dedication through your love of music. Music is a tough profession, but it doesn't feel like work if you really love it."
Ralske will perform with Nassau-Suffolk Performing Arts at the Tilles Center on May 15 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 for general admission, and $10 for students and seniors. To order tickets, call the Tilles box office at (516) 299-3100.
Comments about this story? LLane@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
