Gerardo Ramirez

What’s your education background?

I went to CSULB and graduated in 2018. In my first audition into the music program I was rejected, but went to Cerritos Community College and took music lessons/classes for a year. In my second audition, I was accepted into the music program and proceeded to complete my degree in Music Education with an emphasis in instrumental music and another degree in Music Performance with an emphasis on trumpet.

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?

There’s a lot of important ones! I’ll give you 3 quick ones:

– Go with the flow

– Treat others with love and kindness

– The way you do anything is the way you do everything.

What was the moment that you decided to teach?

I had just dropped out of culinary school and was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Two big ideas popped into my head, the first was I love making people laugh/smile and the second was, I want to make a difference. To be blunt, I was frustrated with the adults in my school and home life so I decided to be the change I wished to see. Ultimately, I decided to teach because I want to offer a safe and fun space for all students to express themselves without judgement.

What is the main goal you have for your students and how will you try and accomplish them?

My main goal for my students is to learn to communicate with others effectively. Everything that we do in music is about communication and so much of life after high school involves communicating with others. I teach students to keep me informed when they will be missing rehearsals, class, or performances. In marching band, we have student leaders that receive information from me and then pass that on to individual students. In musical performances, students need to be able to look at my facial expression and hands while I’m conducting to know what emotion or style we are trying to convey. Music is communication.

What are your hobbies outside of school?

I mentioned it briefly above, but I do love to cook! My time as the new band director has taken a lot of time away from that hobby, but I make a mean risotto. My chocolate chip cookies are even meaner. I’ve also been making kombucha this year! It’s a fun science experiment to have. I also started hiking this year and have fallen in love with it. Lastly, in my downtime I play super smash bros.