Ray Nutaitis is a native of Northeastern Pennsylvania, near the picturesque Pocono Mountains.

His talent for music was recognized at an early age, and he did undergraduate degree work at Wilkes College in Wilkes-Barre PA and then successfully pursued a Master's Degree in Tuba Performance from the esteemed Eastman School of Music in Rochester New York.

After graduate school, Ray's 18-year professional music career included positions with the Buffalo Philharmonic and Phoenix Symphonies, and professorships at the University of Illinois and Arizona State University.

Ray then spent the next 25 years in real estate brokerage, owning his own business, while continuing his music performance as an accomplished studio and recording musician, including just plain "gigging" in Dixieland and traditional jazz. He also managed a classical music recording studio at ASU.

In retirement, Ray transitioned his creative pursuits into becoming an acrylic artist; doing mostly landscapes, abstracts and animals.

He is a juried acrylic artist in Arizona, and an award-winning member of the Tempe AZ Artists Guild.

In Florida, he is an award-winning member of the Sanford Seminole Art Association.