In the present, I live a life of adventure as a musician, teacher, scholar, producer, and conductor based in the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. I was born and raised in a loving home in Richmond, an island city suburb of Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. As husband to Pialeen, son to Jaime and Maria, brother to Celine, grandson to Felizarda, and nephew and cousin to many, I appreciate the affirmation and freedom my family provided me while I recognized and pursued my calling. I have discerned that the ultimate aim of my work is to encourage, empower, affirm, and accompany the people with whom I work to recognize and to pursue their own calling. I am most grateful for realizing my role in this life, for these opportunities to share my work, and for the chance to try to serve others freely in a spirit of faith and with an ardent zeal.
As a lifelong learner, I enjoy meeting challenges in both formal and informal learning and working situations. Along the way, I developed a number of related interests, some of which have taken on lives of their own. I am comfortable with change and I continually seek opportunities to further my growth. My hope is that through these challenges I can become a better person for other people. The experiences I have gained learning and working in various fields and disciplines has taught me to apply a balance of strategic critical thinking and creative problem solving to the work. At the heart of the work is the opportunity to be in relationship and to build community with people through open communication, warm collegiality, and effective collaboration. I believe that anything worth doing in life is worth doing well; the rewards are intrinsic. Yet, the gift of life and the grace of living in this world have much to offer and to teach me. So, I try to live with humility and integrity as I stroll and sometimes stumble along these roads less traveled.
This website is a memory project of active snapshots of my professional-life-in-progress. I have archived completed projects, past gigs, courses I have taken, and other miscellany and tangents that I have found intriguing. Several grad school professors encouraged me to autobiographically inquire through narrative and so I write to reveal, to remember, and to reflect upon my experiences along this life-journey. Writing helps me to process my thoughts and ideas more clearly which hopefully translate into improvements in my professional practice. More importantly, these expressions continually remind me to never take for granted that I am blessed to do what I do and to never forget to thank all of the people who have guided and taught me along the way. As much as many of these reflections are retrospective, they also guide future directions and indicate possible areas of study for me. As you browse through the site, you may find these reflections rather lengthy and verbose. That’s alright, because I do too! It appears that brevity is not my strong suit. Well. That said, here is a chronological career narrative written shamelessly in the third person.
Aside from my artistic projects, academic pursuits, and activities in ecclesial ministry, I am a voracious but slow and systematic reader. I prefer verity over fiction. In particular, I enjoy reading auto/biographies of musicians, teachers, scholars, conductors, and producers. Academic tomes on Praxial Music Education; Critical Theory and Critical Pedagogy; Narrative and Auto/biographical Inquiry; Liberation Theology and Social Justice; Progressive Catholic Education, the Lasallian Educational Mission, and Adolescent Youth and Emerging Adult Spirituality; and Liturgical Music, Music Ministry, and the history of Gregorian Chant and Chironomy also tickle my fancy. I am hardly an expert in any of these areas, but reading in all of these fields help to inform the work.
On the lighter side of life, my wife, my family and friends, and my professional colleagues keep me well grounded. I am an avid and passionate Vancouver Canucks fan no matter where I live. I enjoy learning about Philippine culture and cooking; trying to better understand United States society while vigorously maintaining my Canadian identity, eh; watching indie documentaries and foreign flicks; travelling; and keeping fit. When time permits, I update this simple website and I promote my favourite font Verdana every chance I get. While I abstain from alcohol and I have zero tolerance for illicit drug use, I am horribly addicted to raw coconut juice. Some would call me a bukoholic. To make up for it all, I wail my cares away in my home recording studio by practicing with my bass guitar and by improvising excessively in the saddest of all keys ... D minor.
Finally, I am always plotting devious ways of combining traditional and progressive ideas, and of fusing older with newer ways of thinking, doing, and being. I believe that there is wisdom in looking back to move forward. As a result, if you catch me on a good day, you'll get a chance to hear about my latest wacky project or crazy thought! But, as a bumper sticker once read: 'Don't start vast projects with half-vast ideas!' ;)
I hope you enjoy your visit to my little corner of the web world. 'Click around here and stay awhile; you might swing into a surprise or two. Feel free to check out the latest recording or connect via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, SoundCloud, or LinkedIn. And ... welcome!
Chris Trinidad | o4.o1.13 + amdg
