My name is Jermaine Ross Gitana, and I am a 22-year-old Black and Filipino artist, music producer, composer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist currently completing my Bachelor’s degree in Music Production & Recording at the Los Angeles College of Music. As a first-generation college student originally from the Bay Area and now based in LA, music has played a major role in shaping both my identity and my future goals. Music inspired me at a very young age, mainly because I was always around people who made music. My mom and her sisters sing gospel at our church, and my dad was the lead singer and guitarist in his band. Seeing how much my family loved music made me want to try it out for myself. I started singing and learning to play instruments like the piano, drums, keyboard, and playing trumpet in high school marching band. It was a great way for me to express myself and be creative. I feel grateful to have this kind of upbringing, because it helped me develop a passion for music that I still have today. As I grew older, my love for music went beyond just playing it. I started to wonder how music was made, how songs were put together and recorded. I wanted to know how all the different sounds and feelings could be combined to create something that really impacts people. This curiosity eventually led me to study music production. Through college, I developed skills in audio engineering, arranging, mixing, recording, and using DAWs including Pro Tools, Logic Pro, and Ableton Live. I've also collaborated with fellow artists to produce music released on streaming platforms, and have also produced and rearranged gospel music for my church that garnished 1st place awards in international competitions. What I've taken away from these experiences is how important it is to work with others, stay disciplined, and use music to make a positive impact on people. I want to continue learning more about music because I believe there is always more to discover creatively and technically. Music constantly changes, and I want to continue growing not only as a producer and engineer, but also as an artist and collaborator. I especially enjoy the process of helping artists bring their ideas to life, and creating music that connects emotionally with listeners. Music has also taught me perseverance during difficult times, especially while balancing financial struggles, student responsibilities, and a delayed graduation timeline. My future goals is to be a professional music producer, artist, and audio engineer, working in studio environments as well as film and video game audio. I hope to collaborate with artists and musicians from around the world and contribute to projects that positively impact people through music. While I do not see myself pursuing jazz performance specifically, I deeply appreciate jazz musicianship, arrangement, and improvisation. I would love to continue learning how to mix and engineer jazz recordings and ensembles because jazz requires a unique level of communication, balance, and technical precision. Overall, music has shaped who I am as both a person and an artist. It has given me purpose, community, and a way to express myself that words alone cannot fully capture. I hope to continue growing in this field and use music to inspire, connect, and uplift others.

Music has always been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. I began playing drums at just two years old and eventually found myself producing and composing music, using it daily to express myself. These experiences laid the foundation for my journey as a music producer. I am an undergraduate at the Los Angeles College of Music, pursuing a bachelor's degree in Music Producing & Recording. My dream is to collaborate with people across the music industry and create projects that leave a lasting positive impact on the world. I’m a Bay Area native of Black and Filipino heritage, raised in a deeply musical family. My mother and her sisters are vocalists, and my father was a lead singer and guitarist in his band “Five 15 Band.” From them, I inherited a love for music and began forging my own path. I was shaped by Hip-Hop and R&B icons like Kanye West, Usher, T-Pain, Lil Wayne, and Drake, as well as by the music of my church community. I was also surrounded by the sounds of classic jazz introduced by my grandpa, artists like Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis, and Duke Ellington. My journey in music production started when I received my first drum set at age 3. My parents were amazed at how naturally I could stay on tempo and play along with tracks, even performing mini exhibitions at a young age. When I was 5, my uncle bought his first iMac and set up a small recording studio in the garage of our old house to record my mom and her siblings. I was instantly drawn to the music software he used, particularly Logic Pro, and became fascinated by the recording process and equipment. At 11, I started creating music myself using GarageBand and a MIDI keyboard, teaching myself how to produce, edit, and compose without any formal music theory knowledge. I later learned piano in middle school and joined the marching band in high school, which further strengthened my musical foundation. By senior year, I knew I wanted to pursue music production as a career, leading me to apply and gain acceptance into the Los Angeles College of Music. Currently as a producer, I explore multiple genres of music including Hip-Hop, Afro Beats, Reggaeton, EDM, Rock, and Pop. This versatility allows me to reach people from different cultures and backgrounds. My goal is to create music that brings light and strength to those struggling in our often chaotic and disconnected world. After pursuing my degree, I plan to collaborate with musicians from diverse cultures to both learn and push my creative boundaries. I'm committed to producing music that addresses real human struggles while leading people toward peace and perseverance. While I don’t see myself performing jazz, I value its influence and recognize how it shaped the evolution of music I love to create today. Looking ahead, I want to empower younger generations, advocate for music education, and inspire others to find healing through sound. The current national budget reductions have eliminated arts education opportunities, which prevents students from discovering their creative potential. I want to advocate for better music education funding to establish artistic opportunities that enable all young people from diverse backgrounds to discover their talents and gain self-confidence through artistic expression.

Music has always been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. I began playing drums at just two years old and eventually found myself producing and composing music, using it daily to express myself. These experiences laid the foundation for my journey as a music producer. I am an undergraduate at the Los Angeles College of Music, pursuing a bachelor's degree in Music Producing & Recording. My dream is to collaborate with people across the music industry and create projects that leave a lasting positive impact on the world. I’m a Bay Area native of Black and Filipino heritage, raised in a deeply musical family. My mother and her sisters are vocalists, and my father was a lead singer and guitarist in his band “Five 15 Band.” From them, I inherited a love for music and began forging my own path. I was shaped by Hip-Hop and R&B icons like Kanye West, Usher, T-Pain, Lil Wayne, and Drake, as well as by the music of my church community. These influences helped define my musical mission, which is to create songs that speak of faith, hope, and resilience. These are messages the world urgently needs. My journey in music production started when I received my first drum set at age 3. My parents were amazed at how naturally I could stay on tempo and play along with tracks, even performing mini exhibitions at a young age. When I was 5, my uncle bought his first iMac and set up a small recording studio in the garage of our old house to record my mom and her siblings. I was instantly drawn to the music software he used, particularly Logic Pro, and became fascinated by the recording process and equipment. At 11, I started creating music myself using GarageBand and a MIDI keyboard, teaching myself how to produce, edit, and compose without any formal music theory knowledge. I later learned piano in middle school and joined the marching band in high school, which further strengthened my musical foundation. By senior year, I knew I wanted to pursue music production as a career, leading me to apply and gain acceptance into the Los Angeles College of Music. Currently as a producer, I explore multiple genres of music including Hip-Hop, Afro Beats, Reggaeton, EDM, Rock, and Pop. This versatility allows me to reach people from different cultures and backgrounds. My goal is to create music that brings light and strength to those struggling in our often chaotic and disconnected world. I plan to collaborate with musicians from diverse cultures to both learn and push my creative boundaries. I'm committed to producing music that addresses real human struggles while leading people toward peace and perseverance. Recently, I was honored to take part in a global choir music video competition hosted by my church, the Church of Christ. Out of more than 100 submissions, I rearranged, produced, and mixed a winning song for the Bay Area choir. This project reminded me of how powerful music can be in uniting and inspiring others. Looking ahead, I want to empower younger generations, advocate for music education, and inspire others to find healing through sound. This scholarship would ease financial pressures on my family and help me stay focused on growing as an artist with a meaningful purpose.

Music has always been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. I began playing drums at just two years old and eventually found myself producing and composing music, using it daily to express myself. These experiences laid the foundation for my journey as a music producer. I am an undergraduate at the Los Angeles College of Music, pursuing a bachelor's degree in Music Producing & Recording. My dream is to collaborate with people across the music industry and create projects that leave a lasting positive impact on the world. I’m a Bay Area native of Black and Filipino heritage, raised in a deeply musical family. My mother and her sisters are vocalists, and my father was a lead singer and guitarist in his band “Five 15 Band.” From them, I inherited a love for music and began forging my own path. I was shaped by Hip-Hop and R&B icons like Kanye West, Usher, T-Pain, Lil Wayne, and Drake, as well as by the music of my church community. My journey in music production started when I received my first drum set at age 3. My parents were amazed at how naturally I could stay on tempo and play along with tracks, even performing mini exhibitions at a young age. When I was 5, my uncle bought his first iMac and set up a small recording studio in the garage of our old house to record my mom and her siblings. I was instantly drawn to the music software he used, particularly Logic Pro, and became fascinated by the recording process and equipment. At 11, I started creating music myself using GarageBand and a MIDI keyboard, teaching myself how to produce, edit, and compose without any formal music theory knowledge. I later learned piano in middle school and joined the marching band in high school, which further strengthened my musical foundation. By senior year, I knew I wanted to pursue music production as a career, leading me to apply and gain acceptance into the Los Angeles College of Music. Currently as a producer, I explore multiple genres of music including Hip-Hop, Afro Beats, Reggaeton, EDM, Rock, and Pop. This versatility allows me to reach people from different cultures and backgrounds. My goal is to create music that brings light and strength to those struggling in our often chaotic and disconnected world. After pursuing my degree, I plan to collaborate with musicians from diverse cultures to both learn and push my creative boundaries. I'm committed to producing music that addresses real human struggles while leading people toward peace and perseverance. Recently, I was honored to take part in a global choir music video competition hosted by my church, the Church of Christ. Out of more than 100 submissions, I rearranged, produced, and mixed a winning song for the Bay Area choir. This project reminded me of how powerful music can be in uniting and inspiring others. Looking ahead, I want to empower younger generations, advocate for music education, and inspire others to find healing through sound. This scholarship would ease financial pressures on my family and help me stay focused on growing as an artist with a meaningful purpose.

Music has always been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. I began playing drums at just two years old and eventually found myself producing and composing music, using it daily to express myself. These experiences laid the foundation for my journey as a music producer. I am an undergraduate at the Los Angeles College of Music, pursuing a bachelor's degree in Music Producing & Recording. My dream is to collaborate with people across the music industry and create projects that leave a lasting positive impact on the world. I’m a Bay Area native of Black and Filipino heritage, raised in a deeply musical family. My mother and her sisters are vocalists, and my father was a lead singer and guitarist in his band “Five 15 Band.” From them, I inherited a love for music and began forging my own path. I was shaped by Hip-Hop and R&B icons like Kanye West, Usher, T-Pain, Lil Wayne, and Drake, as well as by the music of my church community. These influences helped define my musical mission, which is to create songs that speak of faith, hope, and resilience. These are messages the world urgently needs. As a producer, I explore multiple genres including Hip-Hop, Afro Beats, Reggaeton, EDM, Rock, and Pop. This versatility allows me to reach people from different cultures and backgrounds. My goal is to create music that brings light and strength to those struggling in our often chaotic and disconnected world. I plan to collaborate with musicians from diverse cultures to both learn and push my creative boundaries. I'm committed to producing music that addresses real human struggles while leading people toward peace and perseverance. Recently, I was honored to take part in a global choir music video competition hosted by my church, the Church of Christ. Out of more than 100 submissions, I rearranged, produced, and mixed a winning song for the Bay Area choir. This project reminded me of how powerful music can be in uniting and inspiring others. Looking ahead, I want to empower younger generations, advocate for music education, and inspire others to find healing through sound. This scholarship would ease financial pressures on my family and help me stay focused on growing as an artist with a meaningful purpose.

Music has always been my passion for as long as I can remember. It has deeply inspired me at a very young age. From playing the drums since I was 2 years old, to recently playing the piano and composing many songs. It has also become a daily part of my life that helps to express myself. With these skills that I have learned and gained, I want to use these as my foundation in becoming a music producer. My dream is to one day collaborate with people within the music industry, and there are many ambitions that I want to accomplish within this field. One of my ambitions is to collaborate with various artists such as vocalists in creating or composing songs. Being able to work with these artists will allow me to have a taste of their depiction in the involvement of creating music. The collaboration will also assist me in learning new techniques and pushing the boundaries of what I am capable of musically. Another ambition I want to achieve is to produce and compose songs that inspire and motivate people. I am privileged to be part of a worldwide church community. I have also been an active member of my church’s choir since I was seven years old. Therefore I have come to appreciate different types of music, one of which is Christian music. While these types of songs address themes of chaos, hunger, helplessness, and questions around faith, it also gives the motivation for people to have the strength to push on. This is so needed in the world today, due to this pandemic that has shifted our lives in many ways. The college that I am currently pursuing in the music production field is the Los Angeles College of Music. I have thankfully been accepted by this college and have chosen to take the 4-year bachelor's degree program in Music Producing and Recording. In addition, I have been privileged to be part of the extracurricular programs throughout my high school, such as marching band and Poetry Out Loud, taking 1st place at the district level. I truly believe that I should be selected as a recipient of this scholarship because I have a genuine passion for music and I hope to be able to share my talents and skills to make positive music and spread a positive message throughout the world.