Alumni Profiles
Michael Gutierrez
“I'm sure everyone is introduced to music from the very beginning through songs and lullabies that they hear in their infancy. My early childhood was spent in Mexico, and I feel that the folk music influenced me greatly. My first introduction to classical music, however, was in the form of a string quartet. I was too young to remember it now (My mother loves telling the story!), but I was apparently enthralled with the violin. As long as I can remember I have been fascinated with the sound of the violin. It seems as if I always wanted to be a violinist, but the real decision was made when it was time to choose a major in University.
“I think the Pasadena Conservatory provided me with a great opportunity to continue developing my musical talents at a developmental age. The PCM was brand new back then, and there was a family atmosphere about it that was fun and positive. The most important thing I learned at the Pasadena Conservatory is that music is fun! My favorite memory of the Pasadena Conservatory are the potluck dinners after recitals and chamber music lessons.
“My advice to aspiring musicians is don't worry about the future or how 'good' you are. Music should always be made out of a sense of love and fascination- a challenge and an adventure. Focus on that, and the rest will take care of itself.”
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Leo Kitajima
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“My first introduction to music was listening to the music my parents chose to play in the house and in the car. They had an eclectic taste, with anything from The Carpenters to Dvorak's Serenade for Strings playing in the background. As far as an introduction to playing an instrument: my sister started taking lessons and I would always tag along. It was so boring just to watch my sister play so I begged my mother to sign me up. Little did I know how difficult it would be to practice! I decided to pursue a career in music because my childhood was filled with so many inspirational music teachers that illuminated the beauty, wonder, and power of music. I feel the Pasadena Conservatory prepared me for my career because I was always surrounded by people that really cared about music. The most important thing I learned at the Pasadena Conservatory was that making music is a collective effort and when everybody is equally invested, wonderful things can happen. My favorite memory of the Pasadena Conservatory are of all the people that I've met at the school. I still remember every person that I played chamber music with during my high school years there. My advice to aspiring musicians is: On a personal level, Find joy in everything that you do. This was the advice that my dad passed on to me and it is a concept that I really try to live by. On a technical level: Listen. This is the most important thing a musician can do and it can really [directs] one towards life-changing moments. My students and I came up with the slogan, Listen-Adjust-Always, and it still amazes me how powerful this process is. And if you combine these two, you get ENJOY LISTENING. Thankfully, this world is full of wonderful music to listen to.”
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Christopher Goodpasture
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“My interest in the piano first began at the age of three when I was given a small electronic keyboard as a present from my parents. When I was six years old, I enrolled at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music, where my formal training began. As I grew older and gained a more thorough understanding of the piano, I developed a goal to pursue it as a career and make music and performing my life-long passion. From the age of six up until the age of eighteen, the Conservatory provided me with frequent opportunities to perform and share my love for music, which was excellent exposure for me, particularly at such a young age. I spent my last six years at the Conservatory studying chamber music in addition to my solo endeavors and I think this experience in chamber music opened my eyes to a new side of music. Chamber music has remained a steady passion of mine and a huge part of my repertoire ever since. These aspects of my training at the Conservatory I am the most grateful for. In my experience as a pianist, I have always found that success demands a complete understanding of the music one plays, and not simply just what's on the page. Though it sounds clich, my advice to aspiring musicians is pretty simple: Make your own opportunities, always keep moving forward, and, of course, never lose sight of what you want to accomplish.”
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Kenneth Pattengale
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“I'd like to consider myself having led a short life defined by personal leanings towards what we all would loosely term art. While that journey has taken me through classical music training, bouts of filmmaking and writing, immersion in the study of history and all the way back around again to expressing myself through music, I have found peace in having made some small purchase -a secret and private accomplishment- over such a definition. While many consider the rigors of studying classical music necessary as a foundation to further musical pursuits -be those classical or otherwise, professional or otherwise- my every waking hour exhibits something more potent. Especially as computed by a four-year-old cello student at Pasadena Conservatory of Music (yup, that was me) and certainly of any age or mind, the very nature of music requires familiarizing yourself with a language that exists somewhere -not defined by- but in between symbols, bodies, ideas, discipline, sounds, mathematics, magic, technics, whimsy, heart, passion and rhythm. More than that alone which resonates from a cello, or stands on a page, or is practiced relentlessly, or enjoyed privately: learning the language of music has prepared me emotionally for what it means to ask more from myself. To be a better friend, worker, family member and companion. To find myself at peace with who I am.”
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