Senior Wesley Park signs with brother as classical guitar duo

Senior classical guitar major Wesley Park plans to play professionally with his older brother.

While most seniors at Pepperdine are looking for internships, applying for med school, or updating their resumes, Pepperdine senior Wesley Park and his brother Pepperdine alumni Alex Park officially signed under a management label as a classical guitarist duo.

Park met his current manager, Jean Schreiber, also the executive director of “Classics Alive Artists,” at a competition Schreiber was hosting. Though Park and his brother didn’t win the competition, Schreiber showed a liking to the duo and kept in contact.

Later, Park ran into Schreiber at a concert for an artist on her roster, and while Park expressed his ideas for music and his vision for classical music.

Then one day, he received a call from Schreiber asking if they would like to sign under “Classics Alive Artists.”

“I was pretty excited when I was signed under my management label, because this was the first step into the real world,” Park said. “Music up to this point was academic because of school, but it seemed like a part of the real life.”

What’s more surprising is that Park’s upbringing doesn’t exactly scream “classical music” or “elite.”

Park grew up in the west side of Los Angeles, across the street from the Mar Vista Projects. He grew up in a diverse and unconventional community where gang-related activities and warfare were the norm.

“In my graduating class, I knew people who went to USC and Stanford,” Park said. “But I had people that also were in jail and passed away.”

Being exposed to harsher realities than most high school students, however, didn’t callous Park’s heart toward people, but rather challenged him to become more open-minded.

“It shaped me to be more understanding and not judge someone’s actions but instead try to look deeper at what’s causing them to do something whether it’s good or bad,” Park said.

Park’s friends also spoke to Park’s selfless character, and how his background has made him a stronger and more compassionate person.

“He is selfless at times because there are moments when he cleans up after my messes and prepares meals for me without wanting anything in return,” David Hong, a Pepperdine senior business major, and close friend of three years, said.

Not only did Park’s upbringing grow his love and compassion for people, it paved his dream of becoming an excellent classical guitarist by giving him a specific purpose in music: to reach people from his specific background with classical music.

“Classical music is only being shared to the elite,” Park said. “I want to reach the people who are from lower income areas, and expand on it too and make it accessible to people who never have listened to classical music.”

Park grew up playing and learning classical piano, due to his mother’s wishes. In his first year of high school, Park decided to pursue classical guitar, inspired by his older brother Alex Park, 25 years old, who also had started to pursue classical guitar.

“My mom was fine with me shifting away from piano and pursuing classical guitar as long as I was willing to put in the effort,”  Park said.

However, Park said that classical guitar didn’t become a passion until his junior year of high school, when he was invited to Pepperdine University to play for Professor Christopher Parkening’s master class.

He recalled his first encounter with Parkening that changed his purpose for playing the classical guitar forever after performing for the master class.

“After the concert, Christopher Parkening (he) asked me ‘What drives you? Success or excellence?’ Park said. “And I didn’t know how to answer.”

“He said, ‘Being successful does not necessarily mean you will be excellent, and being excellent does not necessarily mean you will be successful. Success is attaining or achieving cultural goals, which elevates one’s importance in the society in which he lives. Excellence is the pursuit of quality in one’s work and effort, whether the culture recognizes it or not.’ That was when I knew why I wanted to play guitar.”

Park described his past three years at Pepperdine as being the most formative in his path for his classical guitar career, and said one of the key things that have rooted him through it all was God.

Park was born into an ideal Christian household and grew up in a church where his grandfather was the pastor. But once his grandfather retired, his family naturally stopped going to church with the growing tensions of politics within the church.

After coming into college, Park was able to re-plug himself back into a church community through an on campus ministry called Koinonia Campus Ministry (KCM).

“I was able to plug myself back into a church community after joining KCM, because it consistently reminded me of the importance of finding a church to be a part of,” Park said.

Currently, Park attends Sovereign Grace LA Church and has been attending since the summer following his freshman year at Pepperdine University.

Park and his older brother Alex, signed under a management label called “Classics Alive Artists” in the spring of last year.

Mina Kim, a senior public relations major and Park’s girlfriend, spoke to the rigorous and intense journey Park has embarked on to be at the place he is now with his career.

“Wesley makes it a point to practice the guitar every single day,” Kim said. “He strives to devote four hours each day to this back-straining, hand-cramping labor of love and it’s really encouraging to see it pay off through the beautiful music he makes. He loves what he does and regardless of how little people may know about the classical guitar, his passion for it is obvious.”

Park is especially excited to play music under his management label that spans many centuries including Renaissance, Baroque, Romantic, and even 20th century music.

“Some of my favorite pieces are  ‘Recuerdos de la Alhambra’ for two guitars by Francisco Tarrega, which is a very beautiful Spanish piece, ‘Praise Ye the Lord’ by Mozart which is a nice piece originally written by Mozart for a choir, and ‘La Vida Breve’ which is a fast, and exciting Spanish piece,” Park said.

This is only the beginning of Park’s journey in elevating the classical guitar and breaking any preconceived notions of classical music. His hope is to bring glory to God through his diligent mastery and inner excellence in classical guitar.

“I like to play music and do everything I do for the glory of God,” Park said. “What inspires me a lot is Bach and his music. Bach once said, ‘The aim and final reason of all music is none else but the glory of God,’ and that inspires me.”

April Chung completed this story under Dr. Christina Littlefield’s supervision in Jour 241 in fall 2017.