Classical Journey

Elijah Hernandez is from Downey, and went to Bellflower Middle School and High School. During High School, he studied Screen Printing and Graphic Arts in 10th Grade. Studied Jazz Band, Screen Printing, and Weight Training in the 11th Grade. Studied Jazz Band, Guitar Course One, AP Music Theory in the 12th Grade before graduating with a 3.5 GPA from Bellflower Mid/High School on June 18, 2014. Started taking lessons in 2013 from Professor Mandeda Uch at Bellflower Music Center. Elijah learned and performed works by Anonymous, Fernando Carulli, Dionisio Aguado, Leo Brouwer, Astor Piazzolla, Johann Sebastian Bach, Villa Lobos, Jack Marshall and Christopher Parkening, F. Hermann, Mauro Giuliani, Fernando Sor, Luigi Legnani, Brian Head, Yuquijiro Yocoh, Julio S. Sagreras, Nikita Koshkin, Carlo Domeniconi at Bellflower Music under the instruction of Professor Mandeda Uch. Upon graduating high school, Elijah enrolled into Cerritos Community College and finished most general education courses. In the year of 2019, he auditioned for the Orange County Guitar Orchestra conducted by David Grimes. Mr. Hernandez was promoted in 2021 to become an official member of the Orchestra and assigned role as social media director on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Later to become a former student of Cerritos Community College in 2021 and is now studying music at Compton Community College the fall of 2022. Elijah Hernandez is a classical guitarist, musician, arranger, and composer that is pursing a bachelors degree in Ethnomusicology as an AAT transfer student. Mr. Hernandez graduates with an AAT to Transfer as a Classical Guitarist on June 12th, 2026 but is unsure where to transfer at the moment, although after the Bachelor’s degree is complete, there may be a chance to join the military as a Military Officer due to a Bachelor Degree.

Sight-Reading and Repertoire Progression

My systematic approach to musical literacy began in 2019, where I dedicated a full year to foundational sight-reading through a comprehensive preparatory curriculum. This initial phase established the necessary cognitive framework for the accelerated advancement that followed; in 2020, I successfully navigated both Level 1 and Level 4 materials, demonstrating a rapid ability to internalize complex rhythmic structures. I utilized 2021 to refine my phrasing within Level 2 repertoire, followed by a dual-focus year in 2022 that covered the technical and interpretive requirements of Levels 3 and 5. Having reached a major milestone with the completion of Level 6 in 2025, I am currently preparing to transition into Levels 7 and 8 for 2026, which represent the advanced stages of classical guitar literature.

Technical Proficiency: Modal Scales

Parallel to my repertoire studies, I maintained a rigorous technical regimen centered on the David Grimes Scale Run exercises. In 2018, I achieved comprehensive proficiency by mastering all musical modes across all twelve keys at a disciplined tempo of 120 BPM. Through a focused application of economy of motion and synchronized pick/finger mechanics, I reached a professional-standard velocity of 200 BPM in 2019. This high-level dexterity has been the primary driver behind my ability to sight-read increasingly difficult scores, as it allows for fluid execution across the entire fretboard without mechanical hesitation.