Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dava Giustizia. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Dava, thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Life, I believe, is always built on taking risks. It is what keeps us moving forward and growing. It never feels comfortable when you take a risk in life, but most of the times, the things we are most grateful of now, were once a risk that we took, consciously or not.

For me, that risk was when my acceptance letter from Berklee College of Music came to me on 2019, when I have just graduated from high school. It was my dream come true, but I had to take some time to think about accepting the letter or not.

My acceptance didn’t include a scholarship, so I felt this was a burden from me for my parents. I have never left my hometown in Surabaya, Indonesia to study elsewhere before, and my first chance was straight to the United States. I was younger, was not as mature emotionally, excited yet nervous of what was about to come. Leaving my friends and families to live alone with little to no connection and knowledge about the place. These meant that I had to be strong and ready mentally, I thought.

Looking back at it when writing this, it sounded pretty heavy, but it didn’t feel as heavy, if you know what I mean. I knew that this was my chance — my dream! So I knew I had to take the risk. I talked about it carefully with my parents, who fortunately understands and walked me through the thought processes, what are the things to be considered, and so on. I am eternally grateful for their funding of my study, and I made a promise to myself to make them proud and not disappoint them.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a composer and pianist/keyboardist from Surabaya, Indonesia, currently based in Boston, MA, to study Jazz Composition and Performance in my last year at Berklee College of Music.

I started my musical journey at the age of 4, studying European classical solo piano repertoires and techniques, before taking interest in the world of playing together in a band and progressive metal at the age of 13. Ever since, I’ve expanded my references and influences from names like Dream Theater, Chick Corea, Billy Childs, Casiopea, Maria Schneider, and many more.

My dream as a musician are as simple as writing and performing my own music as a journal for myself about things that happened or grabbed my interest around me, having discussions and collaborate with others, and hope that, one day, I may inspire others to be a better version of ourselves through my works.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My main mission as a musician/artist right now, is to write or compose things in order to “record” myself maturing in emotion and mindset as a part of being a human in this day and age, to inspire others in the world to move in a better direction. Another thing is I want to learn and understand the characteristics and mindsets from my own home-country (be it musical or not), Indonesia with its many cultures, to introduce it to the world.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I believe we all include both our logic and emotions in all the things that we do, either professionally or not. Choosing a life as an artist or in the creative side, means that you have to be ready to embrace your emotions, and try to translate them for the world to see, because it’s what we do. We translate emotions through our work. In the process, you have to balance both sides to create something meaningful, I believe. And by putting it that way, I don’t think it’s that much different from the others, no?

Contact Info:

• Website: linktr.ee/davagiustizia
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davagiustizia/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dava.giustizia.9/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davagiustizia/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/davagiustizia
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DavaGiustizia

Image Credits
Frances Scanlon, Speve, Owen Nathanael