UPPER LAKE >> To say the Salcedo family is musically inclined would be an understatement. The four daughters, Margie, Rosie, Patricia and Lily each have mastered at least one instrument, which they all picked up early in their elementary school days.
“I started when I was six years old playing with my sisters,” said Margie Salcedo Rice. “We started playing music at an early age starting with piano.” She took up violin in the second grade. Paticia Salcedo Williams started playing the piano and then took on flute. “So we grew up in a musical home and started playing music trios as small children and have continued on through the years.”
The women perform together as The Salcedo Sisters and this Saturday they will pick up their instruments at the Tallman Hotel”s Concerts with Conversation series. They owe their musical adventures to their parents and grandparents, who continually encouraged their creative expression. “Our parents loved music, and my father always had classical music playing at home,” said Rice. “My mother interestingly cannot carry a tune but she had taken piano lessons as a small child and was responsible for us practicing.”
The sisters grew up in Riverside, California next to a university where their mother made certain they learn the tricks of the trade. “So my mother took us to the college for music lessons and we participated in the various music groups and orchestras on campus,” Rice said.
The sisters” grandparents helped them through their many years of practice as well. “My grandparents were very supportive and they came to live with us and they sponsored our music lessons growing up,” said Rice. “We”re very appreciative of that, their commitment to music.”
Rice has even more to be grateful for, as some of those lessons were under the tutelage of a woman who studied with a world-renowned violinist. “Jascha Heifetz, his personal assistant was my teacher, Claire Hodgkins,” she said. “It was such a privilege to study with her and to learn from her for about 8 years.”
Rice tried her hand at singing after some instrumental practice and it came quite easily to her. “So singing came naturally as being a part of the choirs in school,” she said. “And studying violin, I think that developed my ear in singing.”
During college each of the sisters pursued what some would call more a more practical field, but that didn”t keep them from their musical interests. “All three of us went to college and graduated with degrees in business and we minored in music,” Rice said. “We all have combined interests in business and music.” One is an entrepreneur. Another, Patricia, is Vice President of behavioral health at St. Helena Napa Valley hospital. Rice owns Salcedo Rice Productions and operates a music studio.
In the late 90s, The Salcedo Sisters took their living room music sessions and transformed them into something professional, recording their own original songs. “In 1997 we came out with our first album of Christian Contemporary music,” Rice said. “And then I released a solo album in 2010, recorded in Nashville, Tennessee.”
Rosie and Margie Salcedo are both songwriters, drawing on all aspects of their lives for ideas. “We find inspiration from life events that have touched us on a very deep level that inspires creativity. Both of us write from a spiritual perspective,” Rice said. When she was working on her album, Rice donated a kidney to her father, which inspired a new tune, “Gift of Love.” “It was life changing,” she said.
Rice explained that songwriting is just as much about wanting to convey a thought, feeling or emotion, as possessing a deep need to convey it. “Just living life will sometimes inspire a creative part in your soul that needs to be expressed,” she said. “That”s been kinda my mission in music, to inspire others through my life experience and use music to touch their hearts in a unique and special way.”
Aside from performances with her family and a solo album, Rice also teaches music as a way to inspire others. She still looks to lessons from her youth, even today. “I have tried to impart that knowledge to my students and be able to provide the musical experiences that I had as a child,” she said. On top of these endeavors, she has performed with the Ukiah symphony since 1985 and in 1989 she became their concert mistress.
Music is still very much a family affair for each of The Salcedo Sisters. “I have three daughters and they were all trained on the violin starting at age two and a half. The youngest has a music major in cello performance,” said Rice. “Rosie has three daughters who are also string players. Patricia has two boys and they play band instruments. We”ve gone on to continue the legacy with our own families.”
Due to many responsibilities, the sisters only get together a few times a year, but it”s always an enjoyable event.
The concert at the Tallman Hotel on Saturday is sure to stir up memories of The Salcedo Sister”s childhood, especially because of the intimate and informal nature of the Concerts with Conversation series. “Lately it”s been more solo work, so this concert is an opportunity for us to get together again, revisit the music we played growing up,” Rice said. “We have fond memories of sitting around the piano singing from the Reader”s Digest songbook, playing chamber music together. And that”s what we”re gonna do Saturday night.”
While much of The Salcedo Sisters” original music is religious in nature, Saturday night”s concert will feature show tunes and old classical songs. “My music is more inspirational. It”s usually labeled as Christian Contemporary. There”s another side to us too that were going to be sharing Saturday night,” Rice explained. “We sang Broadway songs and the Reader”s Digest book had songs from the ”40s and ”50s, romantic ballads and love songs, so we”re going to share that in a variety show.”
Rice and her sisters are excited about Saturday”s concert, as performing with a crowd is an exciting occurrence. “Audience can give you energy. It”s a different experience than just practicing,” she said. “It”s invigorating you give to the audience and they give back. It”s kind of a relationship experience.”
The Salcedo Sisters perform Jan. 24 at 7:30pm in the Meeting House next to the Tallman Hotel. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased by calling the Hotel at 707-275-2244 ext. 0. Coffee and cookies will be served before the show.
