Senior sets his sights on musical career

Manu Dhillon, Guest Writer

Senior Jon Caryl plans to pursue a music degree in college after developing an interest in singing and songwriting.

As of today, the senior admits he’s undecided on which university he wants to attend, but he’s narrowed his choices down to a handful. He said, “The colleges that I have looked into are Berkeley College of Music in Boston…Belmont, which is in Nashville, Tennessee…NYU…University of Miami in Florida, and University of Colorado in Denver, which all have good artist development or singer/songwriter programs.”

After pursuing a degree in music, Caryl wants to make music professionally and write songs. He said, “[I see myself making music] even with other people and possibly for other people too, and still being an artist and releasing music, and if I’m ever big enough, I’ll tour.”

Before Caryl planned to pursue music, Caryl’s parents didn’t take his interest so seriously at first. He said, “Then a bunch of people started listening to my music, so my parents just took it serious.”

Before ever thinking about doing music, Caryl’s interest in music was developed when his parents made him take piano lessons at a very young age, which he didn’t enjoy at the time, causing him to quit. He said, “But then in eighth grade, I started playing piano again, and I really got into music.”

To show his interest in music, Caryl turned towards TikTok and posted videos of himself singing. He said, “I post on there all the time promoting [my] songs, and I find a bunch of other artists too on there who aren’t big per se but are growing.”

To get inspiration, Caryl listens to songs, watches TV shows, or movies as these allow for him to collect quotes for his own songs that he writes. Also, Caryl sits down at his piano and tries to write new songs but most of the time, nothing comes. He said, “But I do it so often that I’m able to write a song like at least once a week.”

One of Caryl’s best friends, Leo Weissman, streams his songs as well. Weissman said, “Jon is one of my personal favorite singers not just because of how good he sings, but also because of the meaning that is behind each of his songs which…truly display how inspiring and creative Jon is.”

Although Caryl has experience in singing and songwriting, he does want to know more about music production which is where Weissman has experience, who was inspired by his own best friend to do so. Weissman started producing songs over this past winter break and says that producing can be very expensive as it can cost up to thousands of dollars. Weissman said, “Also, as a ‘professional’ producer, you can make thousands of dollars for a week’s worth of work.”

Overall, music has impacted Caryl’s life by making him very happy. He said, “It’s made me very happy and given me something to do that can impact many others in a positive way.”