Chet Chwalik is  the Director of Music and Performing Arts at  Unity of Sacramento.  He is the conductor for the Unity House Band Chakra and oversees the singing organizations at the church including:  The Expressions of Unity choir and the Voices of Unity Ensemble.  He is the direct protege and collaborative partner of the late Rev. Charles Cooper, Jr. (his predecessor).  Chet collaborates with the Senior Minister to orchestrate a variety of exciting concerts at Unity of Sacramento which ranges from Handel’s Messiah at Christmastime to Big Band Jazz Tribute Concerts to our very own Salute to Broadway Concerts.  The very best vocalists and renown artists have participated in events that have been under his direction.

Additionally while at Unity of Sacramento,  he created an online web application for all sheet music, for all past and ongoing music.   

 Raised in Northwest Ohio (Fostoria), Chet began playing the piano at the age of 4 and studied with Mrs. Rita Schultz, William M. Lininger, then for several years through the Creative Arts Program at Bowling Green State University under Helen Lakofsky.  While continuing to play the piano, Chet went on to play several brass instruments, including trumpet, flugelhorn, french horn and spent 2 years on valve trombone.  He attended the Stephen Collins Foster Music Camp at Easter Kentucky University, as well as Ohio Northern‘s Music Camp for all six years, and was a camp counselor at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Blue Lake, Michigan.  He marched for two years with the Toledo Glassmen Drum & Bugle Corps (one of the world’s top corps) as a lead soprano and soloist, playing throughout the Mid-West, and from Montreal, Canada to Miami, Florida.

Chet eventually went on to pursue music more seriously by studying at the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, Ohio.  A graduate in ’88, there he majored in Jazz Performance on Trumpet and Piano, and studied with Tim Hagans, Frank Vincent, Rick Van Matre, Pat Harbison and Phil DeGreg.  While in college Chet took advantage of certain musical opportunities, such as playing piano on a cruise ship (Sea Escape Cruise Lines) and for a while would even take a Greyhound bus back north to play with Stan Sterner’s Big Band, which was based in Findlay, Ohio.

Chet involved himself with a number of groups while in the Cincinnati area, including The Park Avenue Band, Stacy Mitchhart and Blues-U-Can-Use, The Junglecats, ACJ, Mr. Vegas and Jack Pot, the Devon Wells Quartet, and the Chet Chwalik Jazz Quartet, and had the pleasure of accompanying Red Rodney (who played with Charlie Parker) on a version of Miles Davis’s “So What”.  Where possible Chet has enjoyed playing both horn and keys in these groups.  While in these various groups, he has opened up for the Yellow Jackets, Hiroshima, The Guess Who, and the Classic Rock All-Stars. 

After moving to Northern Ohio, Chet went on to play with other groups, such as Alusion (Classic Rock band), Off The Record (Top 40 Dance/Wedding band), Mogen David and the Grapes of Wrath, and The Hepcat Revival.   Chet also played keyboards and trumpet with The Overton Project, a funk/smooth jazz group.  Chet has played lead trumpet as well as piano with The Paul Jeffries Band and the Runyan Jay Big Band and has played trumpet and piano with “Swingmania.”  Chet rounded out his gig schedule by often playing piano with the popular “Cookin'” group at Rusty’s Jazz Cafe, featuring Leon Cook on guitar and vocals, his son Damen Cook on drums, Joel Hazzard on bass, and Tony Ben on percussion.

Among his influences Chet credits Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Tom Harrell, Dexter Gordon, Joe Henderson, Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock, Tim Hagans, and Pat Harbison.

Chet established his teaching business, The Tuning Note Music Studio, teaching piano, trumpet and jazz improvisation to both school-aged and adult students.   All lessons are customized to each student’s goals and needs, including several professionally made play-along files, custom-made for all styles.   Each student receives their own OMP (Online Music Portfolio): their own set of customized web pages (personalized glossary, Audio/Video page, Games and Learning Tools, and more).

Chet currently lives in the Folsom, California area.  He performs frequently with local jazz singer Valerie V, and often with drummer and composer Mat Marucci. Chet has also performed with Margie Ruiz, Nicole Hodson, and Joey Ventitelli, as well as in duos, trios, quartets, big bands, and doing solo jazz piano work.