Piano concert to aid animals

Chuck Loucka
By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — Billy Joel will forever be known as the “Piano Man,” but Chuck Loucka could probably give him a run for his money on the ivory keys.
    Loucka will perform a concert of classical music Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Houlton High School Auditorium to benefit the Houlton Humane Society. Although admission is free, donations will be accepted at the door for the event. Refreshments will also be available in the cafeteria. Prior to his performance, a couple of high school musicians will take the stage to showcase their musical talents.
    “I decided to do something a little more serious this time around,” he said. “I’ve done the classic rock music and Christmas music, so this will be something different. I’ll hit on all the major composers and I’m hoping it’s recognizable for those in the audience.”
    Loucka, originally from Cleveland, started playing piano at age 5 on a toy grand piano similar to “Schroeder” in the Peanuts cartoons. By age 7, he had destroyed the piano because was playing on it so hard and so often that his mother decided it was time for piano lessons.
    Within a year of taking lessons, he began writing his own music and at age 12, he was playing professionally on stage.
    He continued on with music throughout and after high school and attended the Cleveland Institute of Music and began teaching on his own. He received a degree in music theory and composition from Cleveland State University.
    Loucka then joined the U.S. Navy and relocated to Virginia Beach. In the Navy, Loucka toured with the Atlantic Fleet Band throughout the Eastern United States and Caribbean Islands. He continued to write music and recorded with a number of bands and for several television commercials and animated films.
    Loucka and his wife Chris, moved to Aroostook County from Virginia Beach in 1999. Neither had any connections to the area, but both were looking for a more quiet way of life. They were joined by Loucka’s daughter and son-in-law Cara and Jonathan Maples.
    “We had a chance to get out of the city and move to the country,” he said. “I was a professional musician down there and also taught music, but I had done it for so many years that I was looking for something different.”
    That something different involved purchasing Katahdin Lodge, a year-round lodge on 40 acres in Moro Plantation, where the two couples live and work.
    Lately, Loucka has been finding more opportunities to get back into music. He has played at the “Rockin’ the Doghouse” event — also a fundraiser for the Houlton Humane Society — for the past two years and has performed Christmas concerts at the Wesleyan Church in years past.
    His connection to the Houlton Humane Society stems from his daughter, an avid cat lover who also serves on the group’s board of directors.
    “We have always loved animals,” he said. “My daughter got involved with the group and about two years ago they asked me to perform at the ‘Rockin’ the Doghouse’ event. Normally there were just bands that played there, but I was willing to put on a little show. Everyone seemed to like it and they asked me to do it again.”
    Videos of his performances at that event can be found on YouTube.