Playing the guitar

At the University of Texas. At the University of Texas he was invited to join a group of Madrigal singers who needed a lutenist. Ray learned to play the lute within a matter of months. "I took up the lute 'accidentally', so to speak. When I returned to the University of Texas from Spain to study composition I learned that I had to satisfy a requirement for ensemble performance, which meant playing in a band or orchestra, or singing in the choir. I didn't want to do any of those things. Then I found out that the Madrigal Singers (a small vocal ensemble which specialized in early music) happened to have a lute (gathering dust in a closet) and it occurred to me to make a deal: I would learn to play the lute and would perform with the Madrigal Singers and would thereby satisfy the ensemble requirement. That's how it began. But then I discovered how much beautiful music there was from that period and I was hooked."

"As a lutenist, I wanted to learn more about early music (which had become more interesting and moving to me than the standard classical repertoire) and I also wanted to play with other good musicians (as opposed to playing solo): The lute offered far more ensemble music than the classical guitar."

Performing in New York

With the Renaissance Quartet in New York. Ray's growing expertise with the lute earned him a second invitation, this time from the Renaissance Quartet. He moved to New York City where he spent the next seven years performing with the quartet and other "Early Music" groups that were at the core of New York City's revival of Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque music. Some of this time was spent in Provincetown, Cape Cod, where many of these groups would play during the summers.

Performing on the lute with an Early Music group in Maine

"The time I spent as a part of the early music scene in New York City in the 60's and early 70's was very valuable to me for several reasons. Prior to that time I was primarily a soloist. As a member of the Renaissance Quartet I had to learn how to play with other musicians, and this involved listening and responding to what I heard. I was fortunate to be able to work with some of the best musicians in the country, and as I got better as an ensemble player I discovered that performing chamber music was both more satisfying and more demanding than my efforts as a soloist."

Another Early Music group in Provincetown, Cape Cod

"The most exhilarating experiences I've had as a performer were in that context: playing with a few other great musicians whom I had gotten to know through years of work, in a situation where we were completely 'on' and sensitive to each other, and the audience was totally absorbed. With discipline, freedom and spontaneity become possible, and sometimes a 'cycle of energy' was created around the performers, music, and audience that was really remarkable -- so much so that I was often unable to sleep until dawn after some performances."

Ray's "John Lennon" look (1966)

In front of the Provincetown piers (1966)

Spiritual and creative growth. Ray eventually moved to a 125-acre farm in Maine, traveling around the country for performances. This seemingly idyllic situation eventually precipitated a profound "personal and spiritual crisis" in which he dropped all the trappings of his musical career and set out for California, where he began a period of intense study and spiritual growth with his Spiritual Teacher, Bhagavan Adi Da Samraj. (He has now been Adi Da's student for 23 years.) Ray's presumption was that his musical career was over, and was somehow incompatible with spiritual life. But, over the years, Adi Da made it clear to Ray that this was not the case; that, in fact, music was Ray's "sadhana" (spiritual practice). Adi Da even suggested that Ray begin composing again, something that Ray hadn't even considered doing since his college days.

With renewed awareness and strength, Ray immersed himself in his creative work again. "For reasons which I don't understand, I became compelled to create my own music and to begin an entirely new career. I never felt 'ambitious' relative to composing. I simply saw that if I didn't do it, I would be wasting my life."