About 20 residents of Garvey Manor adored his February performance.

“He belongs in Hollywood,” said resident Agnes Eppolito, who was seen dancing in her seat during most of Howsare’s hour-long performance.

And while many of his fans agree with that testimony, Howsare, 31, said he’s never had a desire to live in the city.

Central Pennsylvania is “where I grew up,” he said. “I grew up in the peace and quiet, and that’s what I covet. That’s just what I love.”

While singing, Ricky Howsare wants to hear from the crowd, as they know the playing song. Mirror photo by Colette Costlow

Made for music

Technically, Howsare was born in Rainsburg Borough in Bedford County, where he spent many afternoons in his grandmother’s kitchen listening to mid-20th-century music. She owned large stacks of CDs containing lounge, jazz and Christian music that she frequently played in her home CD player and in her car radio.

They shared a favorite artist, Irish singer Daniel O’Donnell, known for songs such as “Lady Of Knock,” “Beyond the Rainbow’s End” and “I Just Want to Dance With You.”

His grandmother was “so much fun to be around,” Howsare said. “I enjoyed my grandfather, too, but my grandmother and I just had this connection.”

No matter the setting, she always had music playing in the background, he said, recalling those songs as the soundtrack to his many adventures with his grandmother.

Nursing home resident Joan Noonan (left) sits with audience members while local entertainer Ricky Howsare sings songs. Mirror photo by Colette Costlow

“What was fun to me, not going out and hanging out with my friends, but going and spending the night at my grandma’s house,” he said.

Somewhere along those lines, Howsare began to fall in love with music, holding those melodies filled with childhood nostalgia near his heart.

Then in 6th grade, his mother played the 2004 musical movie, “The Phantom of the Opera,” and it changed his life.

“I became obsessed with the character, the story and the music because I didn’t know what it was,” he said, adding that neither his grandparents nor his parents were interested in musical theatre, so it was an art style he discovered on his own.

It was Howsare’s grandmother who suggested that he start singing professionally at the local nursing home where she volunteered. He tried to tell his grandmother that he couldn’t sing, unaware of his talent at the time. She encouraged him to try, citing that the nursing home residents would enjoy the company and the show.

Convinced, 15-year-old Howsare bought himself a karaoke machine from Walmart — with one CD holding various hits from the 1950s — and sang to nursing home residents.

And just like that, he was quick to become a big fish in a small town, where neighboring nursing homes or event planners soon inquired about Howsare’s up-and-coming talent.

“I’d never done it before,” he said. “I didn’t know people thought I could sing.”

While keeping up with his quickly growing business back home in 2010, he also took first place in Canal Place Live’s “We’ve Got Talent” competition in Cumberland, Maryland, by performing his set.

Remembering the large crowd he performed in front of that night, he said, “a lot of people saw me that would have never seen me unless that had happened.” Shortly after, he was offered to sing on the radio with a bigger listening audience.

“All of a sudden, I was doing six or seven shows a week” while being a full-time student at Bedford High School, he said.

Taking off

Opportunity knocked at Howsare’s door once again when world-renowned opera singer Dan Weeks performed at Bedford High School on a recruitment tour representing the University of Louisville in Kentucky.

Howsare was a high school senior when he first watched Weeks’ opera performance; he said it changed his life.

“It was the first time I’d ever heard an opera singer,” he said, adding his admiration for Weeks’ powerful voice.

At that point in his life, Howsare was unsure about his future career. Although he enjoyed singing and music, he said he didn’t know that he wanted to pursue music after high school.

After the opera performance, Howsare approached Weeks and complimented his performance. When Weeks asked Howare about a musical career, Howare told Weeks, “‘I want to sound just like you.'”

To which Weeks said, “‘You can come with me, and I’ll make that happen,'” Howsare said.

He then auditioned for the school and subsequently received a scholarship along with admission. There, he was an advanced student in his program while working one-on-one with Weeks during formal voice lessons.

In 2012, he was asked by the University of Louisville director of symphonies to participate with the orchestra as a baritone soloist during their two-week trip to Costa Rica.

This opportunity became a big deal to Howsare, as he was set to be the only undergraduate soloist in the public performances.

“So it was one of the scariest moments of my life,” he said, recalling that he had to audition for the director of symphonies, whom he had never met before.

With only 10 minutes’ notice to receive the music, Howsare sang a few bars before the director asked him if he had a passport.

Finding harmony

Howsare graduated from the University of Louisville in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in music with an emphasis in vocal performance before moving back to Bedford in search of a new opportunity.

Knowing that he didn’t want to move to a big city, he sent audition tapes to multiple theatre venues that produce their own shows instead, including American Music Theatre in Lancaster, The Carolina Opry Theatre and the Alabama Theatre in Myrtle Beach.

As he’d seen productions at some of these venues before, he thought “it would be cool to be in the cast of one of those shows.”

“Nothing was keeping me in one place,” he said, considering that he hadn’t met his wife, Kimberly Howsare, yet.

Growing impatient after six months of waiting, he called American Music Theatre in Lancaster and asked for an in-person audition. By the end of the audition, however, Howsare was certain of his success once he saw the casting directors grin from ear to ear.

While landing a spot with the American Music Theatre in 2017, he also met Kimberly that same year during a Valentine’s Day cabaret in Tyrone. They were the assigned soloists for the event.

“She’s got a lovely voice,” Howsare said. “We met, we decided we were in love, and then I moved three hours away.”

Due to their career commitments, Howsare and Kimberly lived three hours apart for the first two years of their relationship.

Seeing Howsare perform for big crowds, Kimberly said her husband brought the same quality of performance to nursing home residents.

When he performed for five memory care patients in a small nursing home, she said his performance “sealed the deal because he sees how important it is to give people a professional experience and a sense of dignity.”

Tried and true