We were lucky to catch up with Alex Park recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Alex, thanks for joining us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I am incredibly lucky and grateful that I am a musician. I have talked to a variety of people who have different careers outside of the arts who are successful with what they do and what’s nice about their life is they have stability in their schedule and income. Most artists do not have that stability and I have sometimes looked at their life with envy. However, many of those people have told me that they look at my life with envy since I get to pursue what I enjoy doing. I used to respond saying it’s not easy at all and it’s still hard work. But now I realize that they are in fact correct that I am lucky that I am doing what I enjoy. There were times that I have considered having a regular job, but the one aspect that stopped me from switching is that then I would not enjoy it and I knew it would be hard to find the motivation to go to work. I chose to be a musician not to be rich, but because I had to have music in my life. No one chooses to become a musician to make money because there’s much easier ways to make money. I wake up every morning with a goal and a desire to fulfill my passion.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a classical guitarist and most of what I do is perform concerts, record, and teach. I started playing the classical guitar at the age of 16 but before that, I actually started playing the piano at age 8 and the electric guitar when I was 13. I went to college at Pepperdine University studying classical guitar performance under Christopher Parkening who is one of the world’s preeminent virtuosos of the classical guitar. While I was studying there, I realized how much I enjoyed performing and I made it a goal of mine to become a concert guitarist. Besides the performances and recitals I gave on campus, I took the extra effort to find performances outside of campus which initially was tough to do since I was just starting and have not established my career yet. Now I’m thankful to have performed concerts all around the United States, Canada, and Europe.

As a recording artist, I have recorded for myself and for other artists. In 2019, I released my first album, Classical Guitar, which features a variety of classical guitar music spanning from the 16th to the 20th century. It is available to listen to on all the major streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, etc. I have also recorded guitar for other artists and composers, mostly for film and media projects. I am happy to have been a part of award winning films, most notably I played guitar for a PBS documentary that won an Emmy Award for best music.

Another big passion of mine is teaching. I have been teaching music lessons since I was in high school and now I have a private studio of guitar, piano, and composition/music theory students. I am also on the faculty of the classical guitar department at Pepperdine University which is ranked #1 in “The Ten Very Best Colleges for Classical Guitar Performance” by Music School Central. I am also faculty at Westmont College so having my private students and my students at the two universities keeps me busy.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

That’s a great question. Unfortunately the answer is more funding towards art and music organizations. All of the concerts we attend or the albums we listen to are all funded by various organizations, record companies, crowdfunding sites, and most of the time out of pocket from the artists themselves. Luckily there are wonderful organizations and generous donors out there who help support the arts and many of the concerts, events, lessons, and projects that I have benefitted from were made possible from them.

In addition to funding, having music and art in the school curriculum would be very beneficial to the world as a whole. When I speak to people who have had music as a part of their childhood, I realize it is so valuable to them even if they do not pursue music as a career. It is great for children’s brain development and is a great outlet for creativity. Going back to the topic of funding, making that happen requires funding to support the teachers and to get good instruments and equipment necessary. Having conversations between the artists and the people in positions who can help us is essential and we need to inform everyone how important music is to this world.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Something I tell myself often is to not have your goal in life to be comfortable, and always work hard no matter where you are in your career. Before I had that realization, I thought if I reached a comfortable financial level or if I played a certain amount of concerts each month, I would be happy and I could stop working so hard. However I realized once you get comfortable and stop working hard, everything diminishes. I’ve had many moments where I felt burned out and frustrated which is why I had that goal in the first place. Even though I’m in a much better place in my career than before, I know I still have to work hard and hustle to keep what I have and to hopefully continue to advance my career for the future.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.alexparkguitar.com
• Instagram: @alexparkguitar
• Facebook: @alexparkguitar
• Twitter: @alexparkguitar
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/parkalex100

Image Credits
Odam Studio, Olivia Koo, and Ron Hall