User:Steveotenors

I currently attend Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA pursuing a degree in Film Scoring with a minor in Contemporary Conducting.

Musical Background and Outlook

Music has been consistently present in my life. Both my mother and my father were involved in musical activities when they were younger, my mother still teaching elementary and high school bands. Having them as a guide growing up, I have been involved with everything from modern rock bands to traveling youth orchestras. I have been playing piano longer than any other instrument, though I took lessons only for two or three years while in elementary school and then played for fun until college, where it is currently my main instrument of study. Around the sixth grade I picked up a pair of drumsticks, and did not set them down until my second semester in college. Having percussion as my main instrument through junior high and high school gave me more opportunities than friends who played more popular instruments in band. Not only did I get to play in many orchestras and community bands with adults (because they always seemed to need percussionists), but I also had the opportunity to be in my high school’s outdoor-marching and indoor-competition drumline. It was a great asset to my musicianship and leadership skills. Throughout high school, I became interested in production and began recording and playing in local bands with friends. Once in college, music lost its innocent fun, and I found myself not enjoying anything; as if there was too much passion, but nothing to attach it to. It was not until my third semester that I rediscovered my enjoyment of why I chose to study music. I began to try and hear music for what it is, rather than try to understand what it means right away. Now I am learning to balance music education and creativity, which I have found can sometimes conflict.

My Own Music

Instrumentally, I play piano the most, specifically jazz, but mainly for writing and arranging; I hardly ever perform. I enjoy writing pop songs and compositions, but my focuses right now are film scoring and conducting. I have not yet gone public with my music. Periodically I will post a quick, fun song on YouTube, but I have never published anything that I would consider to be my serious work. I constantly feel that my work is not ready, but I never know what is missing. The limitless number of choices one has to make when composing is terrifying to me. Thinking of all other possibilities once a choice is made is my favorite activity it seems, though most of the time I find it just clouds the creative mind. I have been working on setting those thoughts aside so that I can progress through a career.