Courier

Media Credit: Danny Reyes Mauricio Castillo is seen outside the V Building where music classes are temporarily being held.

Musician Mauricio Castillo tells of how music has changed his life over the past several years.

"I believe that music shows us that we are capable of achieving higher state of consciousness. It's a small glimpse at the amazing potential and beauty of the human mind,"said 21-year-old Castillo.

"The right music at the right time is definitely capable of changing lives for the better," he said. "It certainly has mine."

Castillo's musical influence began before he was born.

While his mother was pregnant with him, his father wrote a song for baby Castillo and played it for him daily.

Throughout his childhood years Castillo's family members constantly surrounded him with music, hoping one day he would embrace it with the same passion.

During his elementary school years, Castillo's parents forced him to play the violin and the piano, but at that age, being a musician was not in his interest.

At the beginning of his high school career, Castillo's musical taste began to expand and he began to play his own music.

His musical ability was a driving force, pushing him forward with a momentum that could not be hindered.

Music has changed Castillo's life in many ways. He has made many friends solely because they share the same love and passion for music.

"Human emotion is a really powerful thing; when someone can capture that emotion through sound and transfer it to someone else it's a way to really connect with someone on a way deeper level," Castillo said.

Braeden Henderson, a friend of Castillo's agrees with him.

"Music is Mauricio's number one way of making a connection with others," Henderson said.

Henderson and Castillo met in a philosophy class in the fall of 2009.

Although they took this class together, they didn't actually meet until a music show that they both happened to be at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles.

That music show not only brought these two musicians together, but allowed them to connect in an environment that they were both comfortable in.

Since then, Castillo and Hernandez have become great friends and enjoy playing music together.

"Mauricio is extremely open with his ears to everything! If you tell him there is a music show going on, there's pretty much a 95 percent chance he'll go," said Henderson.

When speaking of Castillo's character, Henderson said: "Maurice is a very natural guy. He's interested in energy and the way that everything in the universe interacts with everything else in the universe."

Castillo said, "Rhythm is a means of interaction between all living organisms; it's something primal in us."

Castillo finds great inspiration in writer Aldous Huxley who said: "After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music."

As he has been moved by artists in the music and writing community, Castillo has high hopes of inspiring others with his music and would like to touch someone's life through music as it has touched his.

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