It shouldn’t come as a surprise that live music is a key part of the musical theater experience at Tuacahn, but often, it is. One of the reasons for this is that the orchestra pit for the Amphitheatre is tucked away in a concrete bunker under some of the seating. A large window looks out on the stage, so that the conductor can see what is happening and direct the singers, but all of it remains out of sight of the audience.

It’s true, as well, that the music is played to such perfection that it’s hard to believe that it wasn’t recorded ahead of time and played for the performance. But it isn’t. Tuacahn goes to great effort to hire professional, world-class musicians, just like their actors, so that the conductor can have them add energy and artistry in the moment and be able to adjust to happenings on the stage on the fly.

It isn’t always easy to find musicians of this caliber and a large part of the effort comes down to our phenomenal Music Coordinator Tracie Price. Read on to learn more about Tracie below!

1. How long have you worked at Tuacahn? My first show was Beauty and the Beast in 2005, which makes this my 19th season performing shows here. I became the Music Coordinator around 2016.

2. What do you do for Tuacahn? I’m the Music Coordinator and also a musician in the pit orchestra where I play cello and keyboards. My job as Music Coordinator entails many things. I hire and manage the musicians and take care of all the administrative tasks involved with that. I do most of the keyboard programming – for example, the iconic music box sound in Anastasia is one of my creations. Our shows generally have heavily programmed keyboards requiring hundreds of different sounds from standard keyboard sounds like pianos and organs, to orchestral sounds, synth sounds, and even sound effects triggered from the keyboards. It is a massive task, but a fun one involving a lot of creativity.

Other things I do include music librarian duties, arranging and typesetting parts when needed (I created the string parts for Frozen this season, for example), booking subs, and coordinating with other departments, to name a few things. My job is really perfect for me because it is tailored to my specific skill set.

3. What is your favorite part of working at Tuacahn? I know it sounds cliché, but by far the best part about working for Tuacahn is getting to work with wonderful people. My fellow musicians and our music directors are both fantastic musicians and terrific human beings. Being able to make music with these folks night after night is the best job one could hope for. It is incredibly rewarding. The other highlight is making audiences happy!

4. What is your favorite show you’ve seen at Tuacahn? I rarely get to actually see a show since I’m usually in the pit playing! It is hard to pick a favorite- Les Misérables, Hunchback, Matilda, Newsies, Aida, too many to choose! And of course, I am loving playing Disney’s Frozen and Anastasia this season.

5. 

   Something fun about you/something that people might not know? I love cooking, especially inventing new soup recipes and vegetarianizing old recipes, so they can still be great in plant versions. I also like relaxing by playing video games when I have time, and doing a video game-a-thon each fall to raise funds for Primary Children’s Hospital. And, of course, I love hanging out with my dog Lilly, a rescued Shar-Pei mix.

Fun fact: my cello’s name is Sulley, (Sullivan), named after the character from Monsters Inc. because it seems huge and monstrous, but it is really velvety at heart.

Next time you’re at Tuacahn, walk down to the front row and turn around, and you’ll see the Orchestra Pit window looking back at you. Pay close attention to the music. That isn’t a recording. Musicians are hard at work, spinning their magic, playing those songs for you!