Giancarlo Mendoza ’23 is a four-year Senior from Elizabeth, New Jersey. He is a baritone saxophonist in Right Brain Logic, co-head of Student Music Showcase, Creative Music Association, De Colores, and on the board of WKIS and Songs for Smiles. He plays the drums, guitar, bass clarinet, piano, and all three types of Saxophones. Currently, he is taking MU491-497F/S Honors Senior Music Performance to further his music abilities. Mendoza hopes to continue his passion for music by transforming it into a full-fledged career.
How did you discover your passion for music?
I was in middle school, seventh grade at the time, and my band director asked me if I would like to try marching band. I ended up playing the bass clarinet in the band for two years. It had a huge impact on me, so much so that when I got the acceptance letter for Hotchkiss, a part of me wanted to stay at my old school because of the marching band.
How do you find time to play all of these instruments?
I make time because I love music, and honestly, I want to do this as a career. I have the acoustic guitar in my room, so I can practice whenever I want. The bass guitar is on the guitar rack right next to the room with the amplifier, so I can just plug it into the amp and play. I can also access the piano rooms at all times. With that said though, I don’t practice all of my instruments every single day of the week. It depends on how I’m feeling that day and what’s coming up for me in terms of performances.
How do you stay motivated?
Honestly, I don’t think anyone truly likes to practice. Personally, I find practicing to be boring. The key for me is to find pieces that make me want to practice, and because I love to perform, so I’m more motivated if I’m looking forward to a performance. For the Senior Talent Show, I want to do a project where I clone myself in a video and play every single instrument that I know to a Hispanic song of my choice. I’m practicing each part right now, but the piano part is particularly difficult. To keep myself motivated, I just imagine how when the pieces come together in the end and everything works cohesively, that it’ll sound amazing. A good exercise that I do is to play everything that I produce because not only is it less expensive as there’s no hiring need, but it is also just more fun to replicate a tune that existed only in your head.
Your favorite artists? Any genre.
Panic! at the disco. Not for their music style per se, but because the lead singer, Brandon Urie, is a god among musicians. He’s so good at guitar, bass, drums, and especially singing. Urie has the voice of an angel, and I am not so lucky to be as vocally talented as him. Being as versatile as Urie has been a driving force behind my improving at instruments and production.
