BENTONVILLE — His music teachers describe Marco-Adrian Ramos as “brilliant,” “incredibly gifted” and “a born musician.”
Ramos, 18, of Gravette graduated from Bentonville High School in May. Now he’s preparing to take his talents to New York City, where he will enroll in the Juilliard School and study composing.
The Juilliard School, which focuses on the performing arts, is one of the most prestigious and selective schools in the nation. The fall 2011 acceptance rate was 6 percent, according to U.S. News & World Report. Ramos will be the first Bentonville High School graduate to attend Juilliard, according to a Juilliard spokeswoman.
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The Juilliard School
Juilliard was founded in 1905 as the Institute of Musical Art by Frank Damrosch. Augustus Juilliard, a wealthy American businessman, died in 1919 and left in his will money designated for the advancement of music in the United States. That money was used to establish the Juilliard Graduate School in 1924 to help worthy music students complete their education. That school merged with the Institute of Musical Art in 1926 to become the Juilliard School of Music. The school later added divisions of dance and drama and changed its name to The Juilliard School to reflect its broader scope.
Source: Juilliard.edu
Ramos was awarded a scholarship from Juilliard that will pay about half of his tuition, he said.
Ramos said he had ambitions of being a marine biologist until about the time he turned 13. In the sixth grade he joined the orchestra at school and discovered he enjoyed writing music.
“I liked the idea of being able to change people’s moods through sound,” he said.
Besides writing music, he has played both the piano and the violin for about five years.
Christopher Lacy, a Fayetteville resident, has been Ramos’ piano and piano composition teacher for about two years. Lacy has taught piano for 25 years and has had hundreds of students during that time.
“I’ve had a lot of good students, but only two whom I could call ‘brilliant’ without exaggerating,” Lacy said. “Marco is absolutely brilliant.”
Lacy said he can be a tough teacher who pushes his students hard. Ramos handled it well, he said.
“It was my goal to make sure his composition was authentic and that he was getting his inner life on paper. And he did. I couldn’t be prouder. I’m going to really miss him when he goes,” Lacy said.
Kimberlee Dray has been Ramos’ violin teacher for two years. Dray said Ramos worked extremely hard under her tutelage, to the point he was named concert master at the Arkansas Senior High All-State Orchestra contest in March.
“I know he was practicing for hours every day — two, maybe three,” Dray said. “I’m so grateful I had the opportunity to work with him, and really hopeful he will find what he needs at Juilliard.”
Ramos should be a musician, Dray said.
“He’s a born musician,” she said. “He has his opinions of what he likes and has a vision, and on top of that he is extremely smart. He listens well, he’s willing to do the work. I don’t know what more a teacher could want.”
Ramos is the son of Mexican immigrants, Jaime and Ana Ramos. He said he draws on his heritage when writing his music.
“It’s those fundamental components of who you are that come out when you’re composing,” he said.
He cites Carlos Chavez, a Mexican, and Alberto Ginastera, an Argentine, as composers whom he admires.
Ramos already is a published composer. TrevCo Music published a short set of pieces he wrote for the clarinet and bassoon.
At Juilliard he will study under Robert Beaser, chairman of the composition department and artistic director of the American Composers Orchestra.
Ramos said he enjoyed his time at Bentonville High School.
“It’s a great school. Very big, very competitive, which I enjoyed. It sharpened my skills enough to be able to compete on a national level with people. And the music program is very good,” Ramos said.
He will leave for New York on Aug. 24. Classes start Aug. 26. Because he has been to New York and his sister lived there for five years, he’s not very intimidated by the thought of moving from Gravette to the largest city in the country.
“But it’ll still be a big change,” he said.