Spalding was born and grew up in Cincinnati where he played trumpet in the concert band and had leading roles in the fall plays and spring musicals at Winton Woods High School. He received the high school’s top music award before graduating in 1998 and continuing on to the University of Kentucky where he studied music education.
“My parents grew up in Kentucky and most of my family and relatives are there, so they were big supporters of UK,” said Spalding, whose high school girlfriend and wife, Kylene, studied physical therapy at UK.
“I knew early in high school that I wanted to study music. I specialized in voice and played in the concert band as well.”
Eventually, the tenor chose voice over playing an instrument. In addition to touring with the UK’s contemporary a cappella group, he also sang with a semi-professional group, Five-By-Tuesday after graduating in 2002. Spalding taught choir at a Lexington school for one year while Kylene completed a master’s degree.
The couple then moved to Cincinnati where Spalding taught chorus at Northwest High School for one year before returning to his alma mater, Winton Woods, where he taught chorus for another five years.
“My dad was principal there for 25 years and I was just an associate director, so I was happy for the opportunity to be the new director in Centerville. I wanted to branch out and do something new.”
With the help of parents, Ann Meyer, Vickie Snyder, Kim Cole and Steve Higgins, Spalding has started a choral booster group that helps raise money to buy uniforms and other things like providing dinners for visiting professional A Cappella groups.
In addition to producing a CD with the sounds of Forte, the CHS contemporary a cappella group, Spalding is also assisting with the music portion of the school musical, ‘‘All Shook Up,’’ which is being presented 7:30 p.m., Nov. 12, 13, 19, 20 in the CHS Performing Arts Center. For more information, call (937) 439-3535.
“It has the music of Elvis, but it’s not about Elvis,” said Spalding, who has one daughter, Hadley. “It’s a comedy love story set in a 1950s small town.”
Contact this columnist at (937) 432-9054 or jjbaer@aol.com.
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