Music Personal Statement

For the extended leave of absence I took from Berklee College of Music, I continuously practiced my music in every direction that I could. I studied theory, orchestration, forms, fugues, combination of timbres, electronics, mixing, mastering, and above all else, composition. Even if I was working in South Korea or the US, I never stopped making music. Even if I did not have enough financial support to go to school, I never lost hope. However, after working for 4 years outside of school, I yearn to learn in an environment where I can focus solely on music and nothing else. As I strived to do my best in composition while working all day, it has gotten to a point where I cannot direct all my passion into music due to tiredness, stress, and worries.

As of now, I feel dread and worries for not having a solid background in music composition. I have confidence and pride in my work as I strive for perfection for each composition I make, but when there is no other professional in the area of music to evaluate my progress, I feel like I am not getting skillful at all. I need fellow students who I can share idea with, maybe even argue to a point of fighting, to concrete myself of why my music is special and unique in comparison to others. I need a professor who will be willing to criticize me harshly and guide me through their ways of composition so that I may utilize one of their techniques into my music, making it my own. I need a school so that I have a place I can always go back to, not only for connections for work, but also for memories and nostalgia when I become a full fledge composer. No matter how much I try, there are things that I cannot provide myself. It is something only college can give, and to grow not only as a musician, but also as a human, I long for interaction with other colleagues and professors. Education where I can solely focus why I am, who I am, and how I can become a proper musician, is essential for my ego, health, and dream where I may etch my name in history as a man who composes music and brought about a new ways of conceiving music for the future