
My name is Ray Citak and I am formerly the music
department piano technician at the University of Wyoming. I live in
Cheyenne, Wyoming, and although retired from the university,
I continue to serve customers around the state. I have been
privileged to work on pianos for many piano owners, churches, and
institutions. You can contact me though the provided
link if I can be of any service to you. I have been a piano
technician since my first job out of graduate school in 1972.
After majoring in piano performance (yes, I am the pianist playing
the selections on the home page player) and graduating with a
master's degree, I went to work for the Baldwin Piano company in
their grand piano plant in Conway Arkansas as a production
supervisor. After two years, I took a full time piano
technician's position at Texas Tech University where I remained 8
years. I became associated with the University of
Wyoming after tuning for a series of recordings made by the Western
Arts Trio, moved to Laramie, and later both taught piano and worked
on the university instruments. At present I have limited my playing
and teaching and primarily work as a technician.
My specialty as a technician is as a concert tuner and technician.
I have prepared many concert instruments for artist performances.
The list includes pianists Ferante and Teicher, Henry Mancinni,
Peter Nero, Roger Williams, Ralph Votipek, Panayis Lyras, James
Tocco, Santiago Rodriguez, Barry Douglas, Christopher O'Rilley, Ivo
Pogorelich, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Andre Michel Schub, Emannuel Ax,
Andras Schiff and Claude Frank.
Although that might sound like an impressive list, I have sure
worked on my share of old upright pianos and clunkers too. I have
had so many interesting experiences, I may create a link on this
site of stories involving pianos that I have acquired over the
years. I also enjoy computers (I build and repair them, designed
this website, and do some programming), golf, fly-fishing and
hiking. I am single now, but have three wonderful children and ten
grandchildren which I enjoy going to visit in Denver, Dallas,
and Denton, TX. I am also a spiritually driven person who believes in
Jesus Christ as my savior and the validity of the Bible as God's
word.