Winter 2024 Mixtape
Out now!
“You saved my heart today. Really and truly…” Such goes one testimonial for this artist’s work that he warmly carries.
Justin Gonzales is a musician and undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley. Hailing from Manila and Los Angeles with limited access to the arts, it was not until his teenage years that he discovered a committed passion for music through digital turntablism and playing the saxophone.He is currently a performing member of the UC Berkeley Wind Ensemble, Cal Vietnamese Student Association Lion Dance, and Cal Band (serving as their Media Specialist). Justin is a recipient of US Marines Youth Foundation's ‘Semper Fidelis Award for Musical Excellence’ as a high school bandsman, and the ‘Jimmy McClain Memorial’ and ‘Outstanding Woodwind Performer’ awards for contributions to the Band Programs of Pasadena City College as a performer and communications staffer. He has studied classical saxophone with Larry Hughes.Alongside his fledgling studies and work in classical music, Justin is also a sought-after practitioner of world and electronic dance music. Formerly the Drum Major and Grade 5 Bass Drummer for the Pasadena Scottish Pipes & Drums, he competed alongside the group throughout the Western Hemisphere - most notably at 2018’s World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow, Scotland - and is now a founding member of the City of Angels Pipe Band. Justin is also a DJ of progressive and trance music, frequently performing sets up to twenty-four hours long, publishing the Infinite Horizons and Lockdown Sessions projects, and launching the HOKUNEIA media collective as a founding member. Furthermore, Justin serves the San Fernando-based saxophone ensemble The Sweet Saxation as their conductor.Outside of the world of music, Justin enjoys tea, photography, new urbanist memes, and a highly amateur modeling career - formerly serving as the premier representative of PCC’s 'Dream, Come, Do' advertising campaign on the college’s website and billboards across Los Angeles County. He currently serves Pilipinx Academic Student Services as their Public Relations Coordinator, and Cal Vietnamese Student Association as a co-Intercollegiate Council Representative. Additionally, he formerly served the Associated Students of the University of California as Deputy Director of Communications for the Office of the President.Justin holds associate’s degrees in music and communication studies from Pasadena City College. He aspires to complete his bachelor’s degree and California single subject teaching credential in hopes of working at public schools.