Describe your freshman experience in college thus far. How has COVID-19 affected your experience (positively and/or negatively)? I have done all my college classes virtually with the exception of in-class meetings before tests. I spend most of my time at home doing school work, practicing, and hanging out. I do enjoy having all of the extra time to practice and relax a little, but I definitely miss rehearsing and performing with ensembles. List your most notable musical accomplishments during high school: National Youth Orchestra (2020) Juilliard Percussion Seminar (2019) Governor's Honors Finalist (2018 & 2019) GMEA All-State Principal Timpanist (2020) GMEA All-State Principal Percussionist (2018) GMEA District Honor Band Principal Percussionist (2017-2020) UGA JanFest Honor Wind Ensemble Principal Percussionist (2020) Jefferson High School Symphonic Band (2016-2020) John Philip Sousa Award Winner (2020) Dragon Regiment Marching Band (2016-2020) ---Drum captain (2020) ---Center Snare (2017-2020) Gwinnett Symphony Percussionist (2018-2020) Solo Performer with Jefferson Middle School Bands Percussionist of the Year at Jefferson High School Any additional NON-MUSICAL honors during your high school years that you're proud of? Jefferson High School Varsity Soccer Captain Participated in Las Vegas ECNL Soccer Tournament  Share some brief stories of your favorite musical accomplishments: One of my favorite musical experiences was performing with my first orchestra. I performed with my first orchestra when I made the 9th-10th All-State Full Orchestra. We played many classic orchestra pieces like Carmen Suite No. 2, Carnival Overture, and West Side Story. It was my first time playing with such a high-level orchestra. It was everything I could have dreamed of and more. I also enjoyed playing timpani on Carmina Burana at UGA's Janfest. It was such an incredible experience playing such a powerful piece. Lastly, one of my most memorable experiences was the Juilliard Percussion Seminar in 2019. I spent 2 week in New York City at the Juilliard school with 15 other amazing percussionist from around the world. It was humbling but also inspiring to be among such a talented group. It only inspired and pushed me to keep practicing and improving. How did our private lessons help prepare you for your future career (and post-secondary education) in music? Private lessons with you dramatically affected my musical journey. I started to play 4 mallet marimba solos that I never thought I would ever perform, and I started to be more successful at auditions. At each lesson, you would assign 2-3 assignments for snare, timpani, marimba, and/or accessories (like tambourine or crash cymbals). Completing each assignment weekly was like taking a step upwards, so each week I was taking steps towards becoming better. You have a system of "building blocks" that will definitely improve any student's playing!  What are your favorite memories from our lessons? Maybe a particular piece or audition we worked on together? Or do you remember any "quotes" that have stuck with you? What are some things that we worked on our discussed you hope to teach your own students one day in the future? How would you compare yourself from our first lesson together to our last? My favorite memories are from my long recording sessions. You would always be so encouraging even though I would sometimes get stuck in the same spot every take so there would be 20 failed takes of a single excerpt! But, it was very inspiring and satisfying to see all of the practice pay off in the recording session. One thing that you have always preached to me since the beginning is that, "we all must always keep pushing to improve through diligent practice. There are many other talented percussionist out there. If you aren't willing to work hard, then you will not be very successful." As of now, what is the dream job you want in the future? I hope to continue on to graduate school after UGA and maybe even pursue a doctoral degree in percussion. I would like to attend a music conservatory for graduate school like Juilliard or Boston. My dream job is to play in a professional symphony orchestra, but I just hope to earn a living through doing what I love by playing and creating music! Please be sure to check out Patrick's performance of Keiko Abe's Dream of the Cherry Blossoms TONIGHT at our Virtual 2020 Senior Spotlight Recital at 7:00 PM EDT!! Tonight's event will also a fundraiser for the LIFT Music Fund. This organization provides micrograms for underrepresented music students to offset the cost of incidental music expenses. When speaking with Patrick, here are just a few of the necessary incidental expenses that he listed as part of his journey as a high school music student:
Many students, due to their socioeconomic situation, do not have the means to afford these essential entry-level expenses to prepare for a post-secondary education in music! Please consider donating to our campaign for the LIFT Music Fund's initiative by visiting: charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/lift-music-fund-launch/TrevorBarroero Comments are closed.
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