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THE MAN
No stranger to the spotlight, Ron Pass has an extensive background as a performer. It all began as “little Ronnie Passalacqua,” the youngest in a big upstate New York Italian family, singing along to Rat Pack LPs in his family living room. Recognizing his talent for things musical, Ron’s mom signed him up for piano lessons from the little ol’ lady up the street, and encouraged his involvement in school band, chorus, and community theater. (She suggested dance lessons as well, but dad put the kibosh on that right away.)
Surprisingly, Ron chose political science, not music, as his major course of study in college, and after graduation he left New York for Washington, DC for graduate studies in political management. He struggled along in the mudslinging field of politics for a while, the highlight of which was a staff position with the Clinton Administration in the East Wing of The White House (no, he did not know Monica). Despite the razzle dazzle of the DC political world (which included the Clinton's cat Socks taking daily naps on his fax machine), Ron's love for music (and a need to pay the rent) kept him busy moonlighting weekly as a piano man at neighborhood bars and clubs.
In January of 2000, Ron followed a job offer to "The Big Apple," New York City. By day he toiled away as a project manager at a health insurance company in lower Manhattan, but by night he found his true joy serenading crowds as a singer and pianist at a neighborhood restaurant.
Everything soon changed. On his way to work on the morning of September 11, 2001, Ron was exiting the subway underneath the World Trade Center at the moment it was struck. Spiritually moved after witnessing first-hand the horror of that fateful day, Ron decided a life change was in order and abandoned his career in project management to pursue music full-time. (For Ron's emotional and detailed account of his experience on 9/11, CLICK HERE.)
On November 24, 2002 a new life as a full-time entertainer began with a job offer from Carnival Cruise Lines. A new career took root, and Ron has been sharing his unique style of entertainment with thousands of smiling and laughing fans in piano bars, restaurants, hotels, resorts, cabarets and clubs ever since.
A native of Geneva, New York ("The Lake Trout Capital of the World"), Ron obtained a BA in political science from Hobart College and a MA in political management from George Washington University. He studied piano with Zelia Dunbar (the aforementioned little ol’ lady up the street), Joan Martin, and Michael Salimirs, and voice with Mollie Ann Steele and Meredith J. Hudson.
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