We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Gina Benalcazar-Lopez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Gina below.

Gina, appreciate you joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

I have been so fortunate to be able to make a living solely off of my creative work. Thankfully it was during school that I started thinking of myself as a business and started really thinking about what my brand was representing. In the music industry, a lot of who you get connected to has to do with word of mouth. And although the talent is a huge part in being hired, it also has a lot to do with professionalism. I have always been very conscious of that, and have established a reputation for being dependable and excitable. I have also made it my mission to take on challenges with enthusiasm and really work towards learning things even if they seem intimidating at first.

I think my journey into working in my city (NYC) began with a genuine interest in the music community as a whole. I was curious and excited to participate and contribute to the community in any way possible, whether that meant going to shows, jam sessions, having coffee or dinner with peers and colleagues, and learning about the music of those who I desired to be like. One thing you learn in school is that transcription is the biggest key to success. So I did exactly that in every aspect of my studies.

I wanted to be a good band leader? I showed up early to rehearsals and assisted in setting up for the rehearsal and asked a lot of questions. I wanted to learn to write? I listened to scores of the music of my peers, and tried to grab onto concepts and see if I could ask, “why do I love this?” I wanted to be a good improviser? Who were the best in my field, and do they teach lessons?

I think my genuine curiosity was what made people want to hire me. And from there I just continued to study. What other aspect of my business could I work on to become the most hirable person? And from there I just continued to study what I felt would make me the most diverse. I learned new instruments, got really fast at transcribing, learned more about arranging and composition, and continued to practice. I got into playing Salsa music and Pop music to get into the wedding and salsa scene, and started offering my services for Copywork and arranging. I also just tried to continuously be in spaces with people who I wanted to know me, so eventually when they thought of trombone, writing, or anything in my scope, that they would think of me.

It’s now a process of deciding what work is valuable for me to keep, and what I enjoy doing most instead of trying to find work. But I’m very grateful to have learned all the skills I did because now I am able to be selective about what I want to do.

Gina, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Gina Benalcázar López and I’m a low brass specialist and composer/arranger based in NYC. I studied Classical Bass Trombone for my B.M.A and then did an M.M.A in Jazz Studies. I got into my discipline in High School through the influence of my music teachers. I am a side-person to a lot of bands in the city and beyond, as well as being an Arranger and Composer. I also work with a lot of other arrangers and composer providing copywork for their music.

A service I believe sets me apart from other people is my willingness and enthusiasm to write for ensembles I’m in. One example would be working with the band, Lulada Club, whom I arrange the book for. We have the world of covers at our fingertips because we have a writer who can and will write anything for us. It’s been a great joy learning repertoire in order to arrange it for us, but also knowing that every moment of time I spend writing will be rewarded with performances for us to show the world this music has been so gratifying. It also has led me to learn deeper about the roots of my own cultural music and has allowed me to incorporate that into my own original sound. I have written so much since working on the Lulada songbook and am so excited to record what I’ve been working on.

Another thing that I feel is a great skill of mine is the ability to think ahead about problems that may arise. This has led me to be great assistance in Production in both rehearsal, show, and recording settings. I have been able to anticipate ahead and by the time the band leader realizes there may be an issue, the issue has been solved already. Since a lot of this work is behind the scenes, it doesn’t get noticed, but I believe if you don’t notice I’m there I’ve done a god job.

Some of the things I’m the most proud of are my writing projects. Although currently the vast majority of my work is performance based, and I’m excited for that and welcome it, I’m beginning to incorporate more writing into my work. I’ve done a lot of writing for myself, please check out my album “The BOUNCE” on all streaming platforms, and I’ve also arranged a lot for large ensemble in which I hope to record soon. But one of my greatest joys has been being trusted to write for the groups that I’m performing in, and even being featured for my writing. I think I consider myself sometimes more of a writer than I do a trombonist, but at the end of the day my dream is to perform my own music.

Something that I’d really love my clients/followers/fans to know is that I am passionate writer and am looking for abolustely any excuse to write. I’d love for you to listen to my music on Spotify and follow me on Instagram, TikTok, and Youtube as I’m working really hard to create content for trombonists and musicians and have a space to share this music. I’m also a singer and love to write songs and am so looking forward to recording new music that I’ve been working on and sharing with you all!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

In 2015 just before I had to do my Graduate Auditions I got into a car accident that totaled my car and injured my shoulder, neck, and back. It left me unable to do most things, including taking care of myself and playing my instrument. It was a difficult time for me, because playing music has always been so therapeutic for me, but also difficult being vulnerable around so many people. I had to go through physical therapy and was in a great deal of pain. It was unclear whether I’d recover from this, but luckily I was in good shape going into the injury so it only took about 6 months to pick up the horn. Since then it’s been a constant journey of recovery.

I actually got offered an assistantship for my Masters after a lot of accommodations were made to help me reschedule my audition and he helped me learn the instrument technique sans tension, which meant redefining how I used the slide. It’s still a struggle to this day, I’m currently in physical therapy again – probably something I’ll deal with for the rest of my life – but knowing I overcame that has inspired me endless times. I know that if I can overcome that, that I have the tenacity to overcome anything. It also made me understand the depth of how all small decisions add up to big consequences, good or bad.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me it’s being able to continue studying. I get to be endlessly curious for the rest of my life, learn weird or random things, and use that to inform the next weird thing I create.

Contact Info:

• Website:ginabenalcazar.com
• Instagram: instragram.com/badeeduh
• Facebook: facebook.com/badeeduh
• Twitter: twitter.com/badeeduh
• Youtube: youtube.com/badeeduh

Image Credits
Dasha Dar Photography, Caroline Conejero photography