There hasn’t been a moment of my life since then I haven’t been engrossed in music, even going so far as to make it the sole reason why I went to college.

Now to be honest, was I fully prepared for what college had waiting for me? Absoultely not. As soon as I stepped foot into my first music class with all of these people who were die-hard classical music lovers, I felt inadequate. Who was I to enter this space when i had no idea about anything they would talk about?

For a second there, it became hard to want to do anything music related. As I wanted music to be y full-time job, i didn’t know that it would require

My favorite part of college was figuring it out. Whether it was me learning piano, improving my classical technique, learning choral music, or learning anything, it was up to me to figure out how I was going to get it into my brain. That kind of accountability shifted my perspective from being permissitic to finally having a clear grasp on the kind of person I wanted to be.

I started my music journey a while ago back when I was five years old.I’ll never forget it. My cousin and I were in the Shoppers parking lot when he looked at me and said “You know you could be the black Justin Bieber, right?” To which I said “OK?” with a very confused look on my face.

I’d always knew I had a keen interest in music though, but it wasn’t until my first performance around fourth grade I realized what I could do with it. I was performing The Cup Song from my favorite movie at the time, Pitch Perfect. I remember singing on that stage and how it felt. To feel the energy of a room full of people watching me, pointing the mic to them to finish the words, and walking off stage with a wired mic to interact with the crowd. It’s a memory I often relive.

After that moment, I knew I belonged on the stage, so I got into everything. From musical activities spanning from violin, piano, and chorus, to concert band, marching band, color guard, and musical theatre, it became very clear that I was supposed to be where music was.

⋆ HI, MY NAME IS CHRISTIAN

⋆ HI, MY NAME IS CHRISTIAN

The feelings my major gave me about music slowly faded as I found my footing more and more. School, what once sucked all the fun out of music, now somehow made me even more interested in it. Learning classical techniques has taught me how to treat my voice as a physical instrument so that when I need to do something vocally, I can see and feel it, not just let the note come out with no thought. I no longer was just singing just to sing, I was a vocalist with an active focus in his instrument.

My vocal performance couldn’t be just about lackadaisical pop styling that slightly reminisced my the sounds of my inspirations, I had to find and portray my real voice.

Coming out of my junior year, I found out that I would be able to graduate early. That was an extremely scary thought. Not only was I dead set on 2025, but I didn’t feel like I was ready to properly dive into adulthood. It took me about a month to process, but I came around to the idea when I realized I wouldn’t need to take out another (redacted) amount of loans.

Up to this point, I’ve been working on my first album for about two and a half years now (April 2022). I had an idea for a smaller project during the pandemic, but once I came to college, learned more, and experienced some thangs, a full LP made much more sense. While it’s been a very difficult process of self-producing, writing, singing, mixing, and conceptualizing, it’s been one I’ve been able to share with so many talented friends along the way.

Going into my senior year, I knew I wanted to start to actually make strides in the career i’ve always wanted, so I had to start putting something to mark my foot on this planet.

This year alone, I’ve been able to walk in a BLK RUNWAY fashion show, creative direct the photoshoot alongside my own article, perform with the Richmond Symphony, co-produce a dance video with my close friends, perform live at venues, and release my solo music.

To say I have more would be an understatement, and I can’t wait to share it with you.