In the present, I continue to live an eclectic life as a musician, teacher, scholar, producer, and conductor based in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. This website is an active and dynamic document of my professional-life-in-progress as I experience the world through these five lenses. Many of my interests have grown organically through the various music endeavours I get involved in: music making, teaching, scholarship, producing, and conducting are all part of the same continuum, though sometimes, these interests take on lives of their own.
As a lifelong learner, I stretch my boundaries and challenge myself in both formal and informal learning and working situations. I believe that anything worth doing in life is worth doing well. The rewards are intrinsic. Still, I have much to learn about life ... and living. I was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and I recognize that my upbringing and my living conditions have allowed me to relentlessly pursue and realize my dreams and goals. Therefore, part of the aim of my work, through service, with humility, and in charity, is to promote peace and justice by empowering, enabling, and encouraging others to relentlessly pursue and realize their own dreams and goals.
Most of the items posted within this website are resources and reminders for the work in which I engage. You may also find archives of completed projects, past gigs, courses I have taken, and other miscellany that I find curious. I love to write and I use this medium to reflect upon my experiences. As you browse through the site, you may find my reflections rather lengthy and wordy. That’s alright, because I do too! After three decades [and counting!] of existence on this Earth, I am most grateful for this opportunity to share my work. For a linear reflection on my life, written shamelessly in the third person, please click here.
Aside from my artistic and academic pursuits, I am a voracious but slow and systematic reader. I prefer verity over fiction. In particular, I enjoy reading about writers on writing, teacher auto/biographies, and conductor and musician memoirs. Academic tomes on the history, philosophy, and sociology of music education; Catholic education, campus ministry, and youth spirituality; and the history of Gregorian Chant, chironomy, and liturgical music, also tickle my fancy. Visits to used bookstores are frequent.
On the lighter side of things, I cheer for the Vancouver Canucks via satellite ... and I play armchair general manager. I enjoy learning about Filipino culture and cooking, trying to understand United States society while maintaining my Canadian identity, practicing speaking in French and Tagalog, running and working out, watching indie and foreign flicks, coding websites and I champion low calorie ... simple and minimal web design. Verdana is my preferred font and I use it every chance I get. Family, good liturgy, friends, great barbecue, and deep sea fishing keep me well grounded and sane. While I abstain from alcohol and I have zero tolerance for drug use, I am horribly addicted to bubble tea. To make up for it all, I wail my cares away by picking up the bass guitar in my studio and by improvising excessively in the saddest of all keys ... D minor.
Finally, I’m always plotting devious ways of fusing older with newer ways of thinking. As a result, if you catch me on a good day, you'll get a chance to hear about my latest wacky project! 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 and stay awhile. Welcome!
Chris Trinidad
30 January 2010
