BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Someday.
That’s when Laurie Ritz Dragotta said she believes she might be able to return her aching heart to Musikfest, where her first love played his final note.
The calendar of her soul will inform her of the precise moment to rejoin the mass of humanity that descends upon the 10-day festival each summer to revel in food, friendship and fantastic music that has returned to South Bethlehem for a 40th year.
- Six years ago today, local musician Sal Ritz Jr. passed away at age 62 shortly after performing at Musikfest
- His widow has not returned to Musikfest since
- The guitarist played venues throughout the Lehigh Valley for more than 45 years
Sal Ritz Jr.’s music was a reflection of Musikfest, delivering a colorful palette of tunes that causes a smile to tear across one’s face, heads to bob in time and triggers toes to tappin’ — music that seeps its way inside you and lifts the spirit to the sky.
Ritz shared happy music not only at Musikfest but throughout the Lehigh Valley and beyond for more than 45 years.
Strapping on his Martin guitar at haunts such as 3rd & Ferry Fish Market in Easton and Louie’s Italian Restaurant in Allentown.
Until Aug. 7, 2017, when his music came to a sudden halt at Musikfest — two days before he and Laurie’s 37th wedding anniversary.
“Sal loved playing Musikfest,” Dragotta, 72, said from her home in Palmer Township. “He loved playing for the people who live in Lehigh Valley, and for so many of them that he knew.
“But since that day, I haven’t been back to Musikfest. I’m not ready to go back yet. I’m just not because of Sal that day. The time will come when I know I will be able to. Just not now.”
But someday.
A staple in the Lehigh Valley
Born in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, Ritz, 62, graduated from Phillipsburg High School, Class of 1973, and got a degree in theater and communications at the University of Maryland four years later.
Ritz became a Lehigh Valley fixture when it came to music and the arts. He was among the creators of the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Performing Arts in Bethlehem, where he was artistic director in the early 2000s.
He was the theater director at Saucon Valley High School from 2005-15 and created theater programs for elementary and middle schools.
Ritz also was involved in the live productions of the Freddy Awards in Easton.
A month after his death, a two-hour tribute concert by two dozen musicians and colleagues was held at the State Theatre in Easton. Proceeds benefited the Freddy Awards, which recognize high school students in music and drama.
Ritz also directed theater programs at Lebanon Valley College Summer Music Camp.
“He always said he would continue to play music until he couldn’t anymore."Laurie Ritz Dragotta, widow of Sal Ritz Jr.
For many years, Ritz was a theater consultant for Lehigh Valley high schools. He also produced, directed and designed more than 200 plays and musicals.
Viewing music as the ultimate healer, Ritz orchestrated a concert benefit with Lehigh Valley bands to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
“Playing his music and making people happy is what Sal was all about,” Dragotta said. “He always said he would continue to play music until he couldn’t anymore.
“And then …”
And then, on the night of Aug. 7, Laurie got the phone call that changed her life forever.
Went out the way he would have wanted
The Ritzes were living in St. Petersburg in 2017, enjoying life at a southern beach.
Dressed in a ball cap, shirt, shorts and sneakers — think Jimmy Buffett — he would play local gigs there, strumming and singing renditions of Billy Joel and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and many others.
Retired from teaching in her native Alpha, New Jersey, Dragotta would be there, toes tapping to the music.
And then, on Aug. 6, Ritz packed his guitar and headed off to Musikfest.
“I remember dropping him off at the airport in St. Pete,” Dragotta said. “That night, we FaceTimed during dinner. I talked with him Monday morning and afternoon. Then he went to perform at Musikfest.”
Ritz and the Evans Brothers played a mix of classic rock favorites and original tunes at Liederplatz for 90 minutes, taking final bows at 6:30 p.m.
“He called me after the show and told me how great it felt to play back at home,” Dragotta said.
“He said he was going to stay and watch a little of the next act before he went to meet my brother, Randy (Wilson), for a family celebration for Randy’s 60th birthday party in Bethlehem Township. Sal and Randy had been friends since high school. That’s how I met Sal, through Randy.”
Dragotta pauses, then recites some of the worst moments of her life as though reading from a script. Her recollections blind the senses like startling flashes of images:
They made Sal a burger.
He was happy and laughing.
An old friend called and talked to him on the phone.
Then he had some birthday cake.
Then he wasn’t feeling well.
Someone gave him a wet cloth.
Then his head went down and he was unresponsive.
They couldn’t find a pulse.
The EMTs showed up and used paddles on him.
They took him to the hospital.
“I hung up the phone then and waited,” Dragotta said. “I don’t remember the details, but the next call was from my older brother, Leslie, who said, ‘Laurie, you need to talk to the doctor.’ The doctor came on the phone. It was a heart attack. That was it.
"Not only were Sal and I madly in love, but we were also inseparable best friends. When he came home for Musikfest in 2017, that was fewer than a handful of times we'd ever been apart for more than one day."
The music was over, but Dragotta’s life went on. She returned to the Lehigh Valley. Remarried in 2019. Then more tragedy as her second husband, Carmen Dragotta, of Forks Township, died two years later.
“Sometimes," she said, "life stinks."
Six years after his death, Ritz's giving nature lives on. An organ donor, he has returned to two people he will never know the gift of sight.
"Sal donated his corneas to people who can now see again because of him," Dragotta said, proudly. "I received a letter from one of the recipients — a woman in her 70s — thanking Sal for his gift. That was Sal."
One week after Musikfest 2017, Sal Ritz was scheduled to play a show at the beachfront Paradise Grille in St. Petersburg. Cruel fate canceled the event.
For the past six years, the man with a guitar in his hands and music in his soul has had a new gig:
Playing in paradise.
Forever.
