By Lorie Estanislao
CMPI alum Diego Gomez is a freshman at Illinois State University, majoring in Music Education and Music Therapy. Encouraged by one of his friends in CMPI, Diego auditioned for and joined the program his junior year of high school. When Diego started at CMPI, he felt like he had no idea of what he wanted to pursue for his post-secondary education. Music was always a part of his life through playing the guitar, viola, and singing, which started in elementary school. But CMPI opened possibilities that he never knew existed.
Diego shared that his home visit with Sarah Vander Ploeg and James Hall was overwhelming because they asked so many questions. They shared what being a CMPI fellow meant, making sure he was willing to do the work – especially the commitment to practicing. Diego was confident he could do that, but he had no idea how to practice.
The Benefits of Private Instruction
Before joining CMPI, Diego had never had a private instructor and had developed a lot of bad habits. When he started playing the viola, he was the only one playing that instrument, and his middle school and high school teachers were the ones who taught him. Prior to starting his freshman year, Diego auditioned for the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestras (EYSO) and was accepted into their Prelude string orchestra. That is when he tried to practice more with all of the new repertoire, but he did not really know what to do.
Sarah, his CMPI student navigator, had him take a trial lesson with faculty member Davis King. Diego shared how much Mr. King guided and prepared him for what was expected of him. Diego wanted to explore the passion he had for music and felt CMPI and private lessons with Mr. King would do that.
What Diego appreciated the most from CMPI was that “they give you a road (path) and you walk through it. I still had to do all the work. It took the anxiety and uncertainty away.” Another thing that was helpful for Diego was having people to talk to who had expertise in the field. Through lessons, advisory, and mentor meetings, he learned so much.
Diego’s one regret is he wished he knew about CMPI sooner. Through orientations, recitals, and other events, Diego realized how far behind he was. Many fellows had private lessons at a younger age. They were talented musicians. Seeing his peers, “made me focus on my lessons and do the work that was asked of me. I worked diligently to correct my bad habits to follow the road set before me.”
Finding New Passions through Mentorship
During high school, Diego worked at the Music Education Center Of America (MECA) near his home. Diego enjoyed teaching younger students. He added, “the CMPI path leads you very well. I had thought that I would pursue a career in science. From all the performance experiences, lessons with Mr. King, EYSO, MECA and my orchestra teachers in middle and high school, I decided that I wanted to be a teacher.”
Diego was a dual credit student with Elgin Community College in his last two years of high school, which gave him new academic opportunities. Through one of his psychology courses, he developed an interest in music cognition from an experiment he designed for his final project. His CMPI mentor, James Sanders, encouraged Diego to explore this possibility further as new opportunities opened to him in college. Since starting at ISU, Diego utilized his open credit hours to take courses in music therapy to learn more about music cognition and added it as a double major.
Having a mentor allowed Diego to talk about what he was learning and explore his options for the future. His conversations with James were an outlet to speak freely of his hopes and dreams. He encouraged Diego to follow what his passions were and what he wanted to learn more about. James was reassuring and supportive through the time they spent together.
Diego and his mother appreciated that he spoke Spanish. It allowed his mom, Sandra, to ask her questions and get clarification on things she needed to know without Diego translating for her. Diego also valued James’ years as a professional musician. In the future, he hopes to be able to be a mentor to someone else as a CMPI alumni.
CMPI Opens New Doors
Diego had many positive experiences with CMPI. His favorite experience was the opportunity to play solo repertoire at Open House Chicago. Performing in a public setting for people that only hear you once was completely different than recitals, juries, and concerts with the EYSO. When talking with him, the exuberance of his journey made me wonder what challenges he faced. Diego shared, “I had a shoulder injury. That was difficult to deal with.”
CMPI opened doors and connections that Diego had never thought possible. The work to get there was hard, yet easy because the path was there for him to follow. Diego is thankful for his student navigator Sarah and the whole CMPI program, which gave him opportunities that he never knew were possible. Through those connections, Diego was able to follow his passion in music education and learn more about music therapy and cognition.
Images
Diego’s headshot