Rising star: Anibal Seminario

There’s a cliché that says, “music is spoken in different languages”. This is true even if the language is spoken through a saxophone and a clarinet for 5 hours everyday.
That is the kind of passion that 17 year-old clarinet and saxophone sensation, Anibal Seminario has for music. Seminario is a new student here in EC. He moved to the U.S. from Peru in February right before he attended EC in the spring semester. Just like many aspiring musicians abroad, Seminario came to this country for a better opportunity and a place where music was more supported. “When I played for the youth symphony in Lima(Peru), we would practice in a basement with bats flying around. But here in America, you get to have your own practice room. The teachers and instructors are great and give a lot of support,” Seminario said.
While he was in Peru, Seminario accomplished many great things. His high school band in Peru won the school contests four years in a row and as a 15-year old clarinet player, he won a contest in which allowed him to play a concerto with the symphony. He started playing music when he was only 13 years-old and a lot of that attributed to his hard work and dedication for music. He first started playing saxophone when he was 13 then the clarinet at 15. “I practiced 2 instruments for 5 hours everyday in Peru. Monday to Friday I would practice then Saturdays I would rest and watch TV or play soccer and basketball,” Seminario said.
When asked why he practiced for that long everyday, Seminario responded, “because I want to be the very best I can be. I was a perfectionist, I still am. I was very impatient and I wanted to be very good right away.” 5 hours of practice time everyday might be difficult for any teenager nowadays, but for Seminario, it was routine. “You have to practice if you want to be good. I know many people that complain because they aren’t very good with their instrument, but if you ask them if they practice a lot, they say no,” Seminario stated. Now that he is here in America, he doesn’t get to practice for 5 hours everyday because of the demands of college work. “I am taking 15 units now so it’s hard for me to practice that long, so I practice here at school and the private lessons once a week, but I still practice at home whenever I have time”, Seminario said.
Going to a new school, much more to a new country takes a lot of adjusting and Seminario is finding it difficult. “I miss Peru, I really do but I want to finish school here and look for a good future,” Seminario said. Among some of the things he is having a hard time with are making friends and meeting new people. “In Peru, it was very easy to make friends because people are more friendly and approachable. But here in the U.S specifically at school, it is hard because when I want to say hi to somebody, I don’t know if they are going to be mad or whatever, that is why I don’t have a lot of friends here in America except for the people in the applied music program,” Seminario lamented.
His goals are to finish here at EC, then transfer to a good music school. “I want to get my AA then go to a very good music school, it doesn’t matter what school. Then after that I want to find a good job,” Seminario replied. He also wants to start his own Latin Jazz band and be a performer. Another challenge for him here in the U.S, is that he has to learn how to read music through pitch letters such as A,B,C rather than pitch names such as do,re,mi, etc. “It’s tough because I got so used to it all my life in Peru but here in America, it’s different so I am still trying to master pitch letters. But I love challenges so this is a challenge for me,” Seminario stated.
Since he does not have a lot of friends here in the U.S, Seminario misses Peru, which is why he turns to his clarinet or saxophone for comfort and guidance. “I get sad a lot because I miss my friends back home. But that’s where music helps me a lot. I just start playing my instruments so I can vent out and express my feelings through it,” Seminario agonized. He wishes that students at EC would say hi to him or make it easier for them to approach. “I am very shy, and I get nervous with people, so if people see me around, don’t be afraid to say hi as I would love to make new friends,” Seminario acknowledged.
Aside from his work ethic of practicing for countless hours everyday, he gives credit to Dr. Dean Teter, head of the Applied music program here in EC. “Dr. Teter has helped me out a lot. He let me borrow his saxophone and clarinet, he also taught me so much,” Seminario said.
His hobbies outside of playing the saxophone and clarinet are going to the YMCA to play basketball, playing soccer and dancing. He prefers the music in his mp3 player rather than listening to the radio. “I love to dance salsa, meringue and tango of course I’m Peruvian,” Seminario revealed while laughing. Whenever he goes to the YMCA to play basketball, people call him “Manu” (named after NBA star Manu Ginobili) because people simply cannot pronounce his name. “People call me Manu because they cannot pronounce Hanibal and since Ginobili is a Spaniard, they call me Manu as well,” Seminario revealed.
Seminario knows that he has a long way to go, but with his amazing work ethic and dedication to music, he is not far off. His message for EC students and other musicians: “Practice, practice, practice. You cannot expect to be great if you don’t practice, it takes a lot of hard work, but it is very worth it.” Even if it’s for 5 hours everyday.