We were lucky to catch up with Christian Gonzales recently and have shared our conversation below.

Christian, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Perhaps one of the most meaningful times for me were a combination of several projects and occasions during my senior year at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music from fall 2021 to spring 2022. I had several auditions for graduate school, competitions, and performances. All this work seriously helped me prepare for my studies at the Juilliard School the following fall.

Leading up to this period, the fall of 2021 was an exciting but challenging time. After over a year and a half of virtual study due to the pandemic, I was able to begin my senior year in September in-person. Studying music during COVID was a major challenge because there were no real-time chamber music or orchestra opportunities. Lessons and studio classes were ok but very challenging as well. Life was not so interesting; socialization was very limited and opportunities such as public performances and festivals were non-existent. Nevertheless, that was behind me. During the fall of 2021, I had to practice a lot to prepare prescreening recordings by December 1. Things were going fine until about late October where I suddenly fell very ill (not COVID). It affected my sleep and practice so much and was losing hope in being prepared. I felt tremendous pressure on myself, and the amount of repertoire was not helping. Nevertheless, I was able to persist throughout November. Thanksgiving break was sacrificed to only record and practice, and the following Monday I did my recordings with piano at 8am at UCLA. I was accepted by almost every place I applied for to attend the live audition round.

Early 2022 was rocked by the Omicron wave which paused in-person learning once again. Even while being in Los Angeles, I had to take my USC audition virtually. During the last Friday of January, my dorm’s laundry room caught on fire, I believed it was going to be the most chaotic thing of the week. The following Monday, school resumed in-person learning again, and then right after rehearing with my quartet at school, I had learned that someone made shooting threats to the school. Other things occurred, but I just kept practicing and performing in studio classes. I then had a virtual audition for Cleveland the weekend after, then a recording for New England a few days later in mid-February. I was very determined to succeed and overcome all of the challenges in front of me. I wanted more than just to do good.

The Russia/Ukraine War began a day before the UCLA chamber orchestra had a concert with a Ukranian guest conductor, Maxim Kuzin. A day later, the UCLA Philharmonia All-Stars Concerto Competition took place during the last Saturday of February. Winners receive the chance to perform a movement with the UCLA Philharmonia. I tried out for this during the last rendition in the fall of 2019. Even though I received honorable mention, I was devastated because I thought I had a chance of winning. Now in 2022, I hoped to do better. I received honorable mention once again, I tried to avoid it, but it was devastating again, to have improved a lot over the last three years to only get the same result.

Two days later on Tuesday, I flew to New York City to audition for the Juilliard School, my first in-person audition. It was a place that I didn’t think i would even pass pre-screening for, but now my mindset was different. The night before, I volunteered to play a little bit at an Italian restaurant. I ended with Paganini’s caprice no. 24 which was the hardest piece in my audition program. Just performing there and seeing smiles and hearing appreciation made me think that tomorrow I will deliver a meaningful performance, not necessarily a flashy or correct performance, something that is memorable. With that mindset I auditioned at Juilliard the following morning, I felt good about my audition and then that evening I flew to Bloomington, indiana for my audition at the Jacobs school. I auditioned and played well on that Friday, and around 5am the following morning, I woke up to fly back to UCLA. I landed past 12, quickly ate a burger, arrived back at school at 1, took a short nap, then dressed and walked to the music building. I had my audition slot at 3:40pm for the Atwater Kent Concerto Competition, the single winner of which would play an entire concerto with UCLA Symphony. I wanted to celebrate the moment and have fun with it, give it everything I had. After it I was happy with myself, that I had withstood the roller coaster of the last week. I was extremely exhausted, jetlagged, and just wanted to rest. That evening, I was announced as the winner and I was very happy, it was my first competition victory. This also meant that I was getting loaned the school’s 1732 Duke of Alcantara Stradivarius violin.

Things started to fall into place. I performed at the UCLA Chancellor’s recital series not long after and it was a good experience, the first public solo recital I had in a while. I then competed in another competition in San Diego and was a prizewinner. I then got contracted for two professional chamber orchestra concerts with a local concert series (Jacaranda Music) including a performance at Walt Disney Concert Hall. I then was contacted for some chamber gigs, and other gigs during summer. I also learned of my acceptances and officially enrolled for the Juilliard School. I was very once again. Not long after, I was loaned the school’s Stradivarius, and although it was very physically challenging, the sound was very rich, but it took a lot of work to try to find it.

The end of May was my homestretch at UCLA. I had my senior recital during the second-to-last Sunday which was fun. A day later, a friend contacted me and asked me if I would like to play the Handel-Halvorsen Passacaglia with him for a professional concerto series, the Da Camera Society, on Saturday. I agreed even though I never played the piece before, and proceeded to practice it on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, we were scheduled to go take a look at the venue (the Doheny Mansion), but about two hours before, my friend called me to tell me that he is sick and couldn’t go and asked me if I could play some solo pieces instead. I then run to the music building to practice the Bach A minor grave and fugue for the first time since my school auditions, and then I go to the venue. I perform successfully twice on Saturday and heard good feedback. Then the following Wednesday, I had my solo performance of the Brahms Violin Concerto with the UCLA Symphony. The Brahms is a very difficult and long work but has so many musical qualities and expression that struck me when I first heard it years ago. it had been one of my favorites for several years. The performance went well but not my best, I was tired from the long day of rehearsals, but nevertheless I had fun in the moment. Having been my last UCLA performance, I had so much appreciation for my teachers and friends who supported me through my journey. This last year of study there truly reshaped how I thought about many things in life and in music, and it gave me the confidence to start believing in myself.

Christian, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a violinist and teacher. I perform in concerts as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician. I have performed as a soloist with orchestras, in professional recital programs, have played in venues across the US and internationally, have been concertmaster of orchestras, and I have also performed my own compositions and arrangements in public. I also teach violin and am developing the “Christian Gonzales Violin Studio” in San Diego. I have given masterclasses across Southern California and have coached string programs at schools.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is to provide high level musical experiences in the form of concerts and educational opportunities. I want people to experience inspiring and memorable performances, and I want future musicians to experience positive supportive environments where they can learn how to grow and succeed. I believe that everyone deserves to have access to meaningful musical experiences because I believe music is a force which can bring people together and provide a pathway to many things including joy, inspiration, personal growth, and other things.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Seeing people’s musical desires achieved. Seeing audience members happy upon the completion of a performance or being struck by something that they heard which would stick to them. Seeing students light up when they achieve something or learn something new. Music is a human experience, and I treasure that in what I do.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.christian-gonzales.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christiangonzalesviolin/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-gonzales-7b7a8b188/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@christiangonzalesviolin