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

David S., thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I come from a family without a musical background. I didn’t think I was going to take up and fall in love with music until I graduated from high school in 2016. I remember my mother buying me an electric keyboard when I was 5 years old; I started enjoying it so much to the point where, a year later, I started taking piano lessons, and I still receive lessons to this day. I also took up another skill in the form of music production a little over 2 years ago–I was 24 that time and I was just finishing up my first year as a Master’s student (I’m 26 as of this publication). I am a man of multiple musical talents and I am proud to have possessed those talents; therefore, I am very happy to become a multi-talented musician, and this is something want to take up for the rest of life and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else.

Going into your question of whether or not I wonder what it would be like having a regular job, I am not ashamed to say that I do happen to have a “regular job”, and that is as a piano instructor at a music school in Garden Grove, CA, called Little Chopin Piano Studio, and I’ve been teaching there since April 2022, and I enjoy it very much. I love working with students and sharing my knowledge of music with them.

Whether as a pianist, producer, or even a teacher I’m very happy I took this direction.

David S., 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?

My name is Sang Won Park, AKA David S. Park, and I am a classically trained classical pianist, a piano instructor, and a self-taught music producer based in the Orange County area.

I started studying classical piano when I was 5 years old; since then, I grew to love studying the instrument. As a young pianist, I have performed all over the United States and received a lot of accolades. I would also compete in a number of music competitions, most of which I have placed in. Even though I didn’t go to an arts school before I entered college, I still dedicated my time to piano to the point where I was able to land a dream school, USC Thornton School of Music. I graduated from USC in 2020 and 2022 with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, respectively, in classical piano performance, and I could not be happier to study at such a phenomenal music school. I learned so much from my friends and professors there that it made me want to continue studying. After I graduated from USC as a Master’s student in 2022, I competed in an international piano competition, the 2022 IPPA Conero Piano Competition, and I placed first in the Liszt-Chopin category and earned a certificate of “Distinguished Performance” in the main part of the competition. This year, I plan to apply for a doctorate school in the same field of study, and that is classical piano, preferably at USC. After I complete my doctorate, I strive to become a concert pianist, performing not only all over the U.S. but also worldwide.

My piano repertoire ranges from late Renaissance to Contemporary–mind you, piano didn’t exist in the Renaissance era. My specialty is J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Shostakovich, Fazil Say, etc. I am hoping to explore pieces and to expand my repertoire even more.

In 2021, just as I was about to finish up my first year of grad school, I took up music production. Back in 2017, I met a friend in college who happened to make music, and he still does to this day. His name is LaynoProd, and, before I became a music producer, I worked with him several times as a pianist during and after college, helping him in a few of his projects. “PRAY FOR THE RICH”, “SERVE THE POOR”. and “Saturday Escape [David S. Park REMIX’}. In late March 2021, I began to make my first beat, which, at first I thought it was good but now I find it unpleasant to listen to, which is always the case for new producers. I kept practicing and practicing, but I kept failing. That’s when I started referring to multiple resources including my trusted friend, who would offer me one production lesson via Zoom. After that one Zoom call, my beatmaking started improving. I didn’t even receive formal training in music production, either.

I can make beats in a variety of genres: emotional piano beats, trap beats, West Coast, UK/NY Drill, Pluggnb, R&B, Rage, Hyperpop, Dance, Orchestral/Regalia, Lo-Fi, Samples from Old R&B songs, My production credits as of this publication include the following artists: LaynoProd, Russell Groovy, Garret Rouleau, TitoSevenSix, Boyd, and Billyracxx. I was fortunate enough to earn my first producer plaque earlier this year with LaynoProd for his album “OPM” for ranking #1 on the iTunes Music R&B/Soul Pre-Orders All Time Bestsellers Chart. My goal by the end of this year is to work with even bigger artists such as K Suave, Summrs, Desire, Autumn!, Cochise, EastBayTae, etc.

What I am really proud of most as not just a musician but also a creative is my ability to possess multiple talents and being consistent with what I do, whether as pianist or producer, and my work ethic. My consistency and work ethic have helped me become what I am today. At the end of the day, my end goal is to become a concert pianist/recitalist AND a billboard music producer. If I continue to work hard and stay consistent (and even network with people and be around those more successful than I), I am always going to improve over time, and the end results will come to fruition when the time is right.

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

I always have a fear of being rejected, undervalued, underutilized, and overlooked. I would even sometimes think to myself, “Am I good enough? Will I get my name out there?” Unfortunately, I have experienced all of these things, and I still do to this day, and that always made me feel down and want to no longer continue to do what I love to do. Even though I sense deep down that nobody will be there to support me, in reality, there are always going to be people (whether strangers or trusted friends) who will always appreciate my talent, dedication, drive, and most importantly, value. I always need to keep a positive mindset and not think about anything that will jeopardize my motivation.

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

While I continue to constantly sharpen my skills, my goal is to not only be consistent in working my craft but also bring my name out there in the music industry and, being a teacher myself, educate and inspire everyone. I see that I am already building my brand and my audience/fanbase/community, mainly by Instagram. But simply Instagram is not going to be enough for me to build my brand or my audience. I plan to start content creating soon using not only Instagram but also YouTube, TikTok, etc. so I can build my brand and my audience more, and even inspire more people as a multitalented musician.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://withkoji.com/@David_S_Park
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/david_s.park/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sang-won-park-56165b283
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/David_S_Park
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@Prod-David-S-Park-125

Image Credits
David S. Park @david_s.park James Layno @laynoprod Paolo Panlilio @potato.paolo Brandon Dugas @bewonger or @bwongr