Gabriel Gonzalez’s love letter to classical music

Junior Gabriel Gonzalez glances at a sheet of paper, fingers skimming over black-and-white keys before deftly pressing down on the piano to bring his newly-composed melody to life.

Drawing inspiration from classical and modern composers alike, Gonzalez composes whenever he has time to spare, with pieces in varying genres.

“I find composing music as a gateway to express things I might not be able to through words,” Gonzalez said.

He mainly works on composing music over the weekends, trying different tunes on the piano until he finds one that expresses the feeling or experience he was originally inspired by.

“It really depends on what happens around me,” Gonzalez said. “Sometimes I’ll start and see if something comes to mind, but other times I’ll write a piece about a friend or something that happens in my life.”

Gonzalez only shares his work with close friends and recently composed a piece representing personal events, expressing various emotions through his music.

“Every weekend, I try my best to compose something just a little cooler than I did last week,” Gonzalez said.

Having started composing music two years ago and mostly writing short pieces, Gonzalez views composing as a creative outlet and enjoyable hobby, despite finding the process frustrating at times.

“My favorite part about composing is the final product when everything comes together and you see all the little intricacies in the music,” Gonzalez said. “That’s the best part when you get to see         your work.”

Because of his time constraints, Gonzalez occasionally faces difficulties when he tries to continue working on his partially-composed pieces after stopping for a week. When that happens, he takes a step back to find his inspiration again.

“I get stuck in the middle of pieces very frequently. I want to continue, but I can’t, or I’ll hit writer’s block,” Gonzalez said. “It really does suck, but at the end of the day, that’s what we encounter as composers. It’s part of the job.”

In Symphonic Orchestra, Gonzalez typically plays predetermined songs on the violin instead of composing his own. However, there are currently plans for next year’s orchestra to play Gonzalez’s piece at one of their concerts.

“That’s in the works, the most important piece to me that I’m writing right now,” Gonzalez said. “We’ll probably play it next year, so that’s going to be fun.”

Although Gonzalez will likely not pursue music as his main career, he still plans to continue composing in the future.

“In general, it’s really hard to be successful in music. It’s very competitive, but whether I minor in music or freelance, something will be music related,” Gonzalez said. “Once you see how it comes together in the end, it’s all worth it.”