Story by: Lev Cardenas, Staff Writer
Photo by: Viviana Valencia, Editor-In-Chief
Music majors will be showcasing their acquired skills and with various types of instruments that they have been practicing at the Applied Recitals presented by Cypress College’s music department on Nov. 20 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the CCCPLX-216. The event is free and open to all.
The performances will display the fruits of the musicians’ labor and how their creativity shines through their music. Their dedication to their craft is built on their hard work, their own personal inspirations and motivations that keep them practicing.
“For me, it’s a lot of rock that inspires me,” said Tyler Bond, a music major who has played the trombone for seven years. “It motivates me to create a lot of stuff.”
People around the musicians also motivate them to continue their work and encourage them to further their musical abilities.
“It could be audience members or my fellow bandmates,” said Vincent Duong, a music major who has played the piano for eight years. “It could also be seeing friends and family applauding and cheering me on.”
Music professor, Gary Paul Gopar, who has played the trumpet for forty years, shared his advice for future students who are interested in playing an instrument for the first time but have doubts. “All the things we have to do to become a good musician include developing your ears, developing your technique, the work we put into that…there is a correlation between that and being successful,” said Gopar. “But success doesn’t always mean dollars. It could mean gaining respect amongst those you respect, and it could also mean making a living.”
The art of music is not just how much can be made off of it, but rather hearing an individual’s soul in each note.
