In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, composer and pianist Richard Hernandez is donating proceeds from his recent instrumental album, Suite for a Journey (Suite Para Un Viaje), to the Mission Hope Cancer Center in Santa Maria. The album was directly influenced by people in Hernandez’s own life who have suffered from breast cancer, the musician explained.
“The inspiration behind this album came from individuals whom I personally know. They are family members, friends, fighters, and survivors,” Hernandez told the Sun. “My album was assembled by feelings of resentment, frustration, loss, and hope.”
Hernandez is local to Santa Maria, and while digital downloads of the album are available through his HearNow page, physical copies of Suite for a Journey (Suite Para Un Viaje) can be purchased locally at Boo Boo Records in San Luis Obispo.
Described as “an intensely personal project,” Hernandez sought to honor “those who have experienced the journey of being diagnosed with the insidious disease of breast cancer” through classical, instrumental music, he said. Suite for a Journey (Suite Para Un Viaje) consists of six tracks. Each composition illustrates a different aspect of the “journey.”
“‘The Diagnosis (El Diagnostico)’ is the most personal track on the album. It’s composed in a free form that alternates between the tensions of anger and confusion one might experience with a diagnosis,” said Hernandez, who recommends that first-time listeners experience the album in its entirety rather than one track at a time.
Hernandez performs piano and he’s joined by Los Angeles-based musician Zachary Valenzuela, who plays the flute on the album. Since 2002, Valenzuela has been the flutist in residence at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles.
While Hernandez has worked as a professional composer and conductor in the television industry for several years—with compositions appearing on shows for A&E, ABC, Bravo, Lifetime, MTV, NBC, Telemundo, TLC, The History Channel, and other networks—his career and musical aspirations were kick-started in his hometown of Santa Maria, where he recorded Suite for a Journey and currently resides.
“Growing up in a small town like Santa Maria teaches life lessons,” Hernandez said. “During my early years as a student, I studied and/or played under some of Santa Maria’s finest musicians, including Herb Adams, Patricia Boyd, Samuel Gorbach, Chris Kuzell, Chuck Osborne, Bob Swayze, Gary Thompson, and several others.”
Later in adulthood, Hernandez went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in music from the Conservatory of Music at the University of the Pacific and his master’s degree in conducting from UCLA, under the tutelage of Donald Neuen.
Aside from professional composing, conducting, and mentoring, Hernandez also spent nearly a decade in the music licensing business while working for CBS Television Music Operations (West Coast). Now in the midst of a seasoned, diverse career in the music industry, Hernandez still considers himself a constant learner, he said.
“I would describe myself as a lifelong student of music driven by a desire to serve, create, teach, and learn,” Hernandez said.
Send local music recommendations to Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood at cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Oct 8-15, 2020.