I have always been drawn to music.
I grew up listening to my mother play pieces by Beethoven and Chopin on our
piano in the living room. I thought this
level of musicianship was untouchable, somewhat magical. My mother noticed my
interested and gave me my first instrument, a guitar when I was twelve. I grew
up with the internet, it was easy to start to learn some of the basics of the
instrument, and start to seek out other musicians. I played in various rock
groups in high school. I had the opportunity to take a classical guitar class
at a community college. My interest in
music continued to grow, and I decided to pursue my passion more seriously.
I had heard great things about MSU
Denver and auditioned for the Jazz program. I didn’t know much of anything
about Jazz going into the program. From Miles Davis to Bill Evans, these names
were unfamiliar to me. This wasn’t a bad thing, every day I was learning something
new. I had never been so motivated in my life. I greatly improved musically and
intellectually. Private lessons showed me how valuable one on one time can be
and the importance of education. I took both classical and jazz guitar lessons
which helped me understand a greater scope of music and the guitar. I learned how vast music is and that it could
be studied for a lifetime and still have more to learn. This concept has helped
my find a love for studying music daily. Music presented other prospects. One
of the most rewarding was teaching.
I have been teaching guitar and
piano privately now for about 3 years. I started with just a couple families,
and my clientele grew through recommendations. Last year I was offered an
opening at Graland Country Day School to teach a guitar class as well as some private
lessons. My role at the school has continued to expand over the last year, and
I find myself able to survive financially solely through music. I never would
have dreamed that music could be so fulfilling, and I owe it all to my
education.
Many of my friends have attended DU’s
jazz program and all of them rave about the faculty. I would love to get a
chance to study with them in hopes to further my opportunities in both teaching
as well as performing. I would
eventually like to teach at the college level in some way, I think this would
be a great step in that direction. DU’s
campus is also much closer than any other graduate performance degree, so it would
be a perfect fit. Music is the path I have chosen to take, the career I strive
for, and the life, no matter how challenging, I intend to live.
