Submitted – Selkirk College
Nashville Dreams Become Reality for Selkirk College Alumnus
NELSON – What path takes you from a small town in the Kootenays to performing at the
Grand Ole Opry in Nashville? For one professional musician, the first steps on that
journey led through the doors of Selkirk College’s Contemporary Music & Technology
Program.
Guitarist Tom Samulak was a student of the program from 2007 to 2009, majoring in
music performance on Nelson’s Tenth Street Campus. In the last few years, he has
quickly established himself as a gifted live performer and recording session-man in the
U.S., working with some of country music’s biggest established and rising stars.
It’s all pretty heady stuff for a kid from Fruitvale, a small town outside of Trail. His first
connection to Selkirk was taking after-school guitar lessons from college instructors who
helped him become familiar with the Nelson campus and prepare for his audition for the
school. Attending the College made a lot of sense for a local youth, who was able to
learn and practice close to home.
“I gained necessary expertise in my field through top-notch training and experience,” he
recalls. “Meeting like-minded musicians and getting the chance to play with them in a
wide variety of venues and musical situations gave me a boost.”
Lessons Delivered by Music Masters
The Selkirk College music program has been preparing students for commercial success
in the industry for a quarter-century. Students study rock, jazz, classical, world music
and other genres—including Samulak’s beloved country music. The small class sizes and
individual attention a student gets at Selkirk made a real difference.
“Each instructor and course gave me a boost in their own ways,” he says. “That’s what
meant the most to me, getting first-hand expertise from each instructor, who are all
masters of their respective talents.”
Samulak was an “absolute pleasure” to have in the program says Darren Mahe, who
taught him music theory and guitar.
“Besides being quite talented as a guitar player, he was a really great student, driven to
succeed, a hard worker, with an open mind about everything he was learning. He always
wanted to learn something new,” Mahe recalls. “He had a really great personality,
positive, and always had a vision in mind and very clear goals of what he wanted to
attain.”
In the subsequent years, Mahe says his former student has become a colleague and
good friend. They keep in touch to this day.
After his time at Selkirk College—where he graduated with distinction—Samulak went to
the University of Calgary for a year, then traveled to the Berklee College of Music in
Boston. Selkirk’s transfer agreement and related curriculum made the transition much
easier, he says.
Samulak graduated Cum Laude from the prestigious international school in 2012 with a
degree in Music Performance, and headed for Nashville to start work. But even there, he
says, lessons learned at the intimate campus in Nelson stay with him and have helped
advance his career.
“Besides the fundamentals of music, more rhetorically, I learned the importance of
making friends of lifetime quality,” he says. “I’m still personal friends with many of my
Selkirk colleagues.”
Among those friends is international recording star and fellow Selkirk College alum from
2009 Kiesza. She also attended Berklee and graduated a year before Samulak. They are
still close friends, having kept in touch and even performed together on occasion.
Making it Happen in Music City
Since moving to Nashville, Samulak has found himself in ever greater demand. He’s been
picked up by bands such as Derryl Perry and Haley & Michaels, performing 200 or more
times a year. He’s played before millions of people on television and live satellite radio
concerts, recorded in studios across the U.S., created theme music for TV series, and
won awards for his performance skills.
The highlight of his still-emerging career? Playing the Grand Ole Opry, the world’s
longest-running radio show, on October 24 last year. It’s the dream gig for any aspiring
country star.
“You could put it on my gravestone and I’d be happy,” he says. “It was a defining
moment for me and I’m very thankful.”
So how do you keep your head level when your dreams have come true so quickly?
Samulak has some advice for students hoping to follow his path.
“Aspire to be the best and most balanced you can be in every aspect of your life, so
when your life becomes a rollercoaster ride, you’ll be rock-steady,” he says.
Samulak’s style might remind an old-time country music fan of Roy Clark, the guitar and
banjo player who became a television and recording star in the 1970s. Samulak’s
YouTube videos show a performer much like Clark—relaxed, smiling, comfortable with
his performance and astonishing with his command of his instrument.
Samulak says that happy look on his face when he’s playing is no accident: he’s learned
to cope with all the performing pressure with a simple concept.
“Just do it, and always have fun playing music and studying it,” he says. “It is meant to
be fun, so enjoy it.”
PHOTO CUTLINE: Selkirk College Contemporary Music & Technology Program alumnus
Tom Samulak realized one of his dreams this past October when he performed at the
Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.
YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVLnoD15uog