Being a musician is always hard. There is nobody who is going to support you. The first statement people say when you tell them you are going to study music is "Can you make money?"

I was in the same situation like other people. But I had a dream. I wanted to be on the stage and have audiences stand and congratulate me with their applause. I wanted to become a star and I did so. I represented my country (Indonesia) in 1996 at the Asia Oceania Yamaha Electone Festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

My first time experience in Kuala Lumpur made me fall in love with the country. It is a beautiful place with nice food and great people. After completing my Bachelor of Business Administration Degree, I decided to come to the International College of Music (ICOM) and enroll in the Berklee Transfer Program (BTP) in September 2001. Everything was just so new for me. I learned a lot of new music theories that I never knew before. I started to learn jazz and got the opportunity to watch a lot of great performances especially by the amazing Malaysia Philharmonic Orchestra at the Petronas Twin Tower Concert Hall. It is one of the best concert halls in the world.

As an International Student, ICOM provided me with excellent opportunities and a lot of confidence. It helped prepare me to go to Berklee College of Music in Boston. With its excellent faculty, who graduated from Berklee and other music colleges throughout the world, ICOM is definitely one of the best places to choose to study contemporary music.

My first day at Berklee, everything was just new and very different. Starting with the cold weather (-25 Celsius), I had to deal with different foods, high living costs, new friends, different languages, a changed environment and apartment living. My first major was Contemporary Writing & Production (CWP). This is the largest writing Major at Berklee. I learned a lot from the Berklee Writing Department professors and the Arranging and Contemporary Harmony course, which I studied at ICOM, was really helpful. Half way into my program, I decided to enter the Music Production and Engineering Major. This is the most popular Major at Berklee. Since I could not declare a triple major, I decided to make Contemporary Writing as my minor and take Piano Performance as my Second Major.

As a musician you have to play, no matter what kind of style you learn to specialize in. As a musician, you will always be facing problems with the sound because the Sound Engineer usually does not get it right. Those are the two main reasons why I decided to pursue a dual major in Music Production and Engineering and Performance.

I had many great experiences while working with Berklee's students and professors. They are so good and working with them required a lot of hard work. I slept two to four hours every day for around two years (I am still doing it today). I had to sit in the hallway for two to three hours each day so that I could reserve one of Berklee's recording studios. We did recording sessions from two to six in the morning almost every day.

I received a chance to be the Sound Engineer for a Berklee student who was applying for the 2005 Montreal Jazz Festival. It was a crazy session. We did the recording in just 3 hours for 3 songs and completed the mixing and mastering in just 2 days. I also got an opportunity to be the Chief Sound Engineer for many of Berklee's professors.

When I was working as a Berklee International Student Ambassador, there were always International Students asking me about getting a job or a gig in Boston while studying. Before answering their questions, I asked them these questions: "Why did you come to Berklee? Why did your parents send you to Berklee? Did they send you to Berklee to get a job or to study?" There is always time to work. School is the time for you to study. After you graduate, then it is time for you to work and earn some money. The Real World is not always a happy and pleasant place. You should enjoy your school years while you can.

No matter what school you enter, you will always hear complaints. People are never satisfied. A school cannot give you everything that you need but you always can do something for your school. You might believe that you do not want to become a teacher or professor. However, later on you may discover that teaching may be the only way that you can support yourself in your life. So you should always respect your teachers.

I always have had faith in education. Education builds great people and great people build strong countries. I was very honored to receive a Scholarship and International Grant from Berklee. I was awarded a Full Scholarship from McGill University to continue my Master's Degree in Sound Recording. In May 2008, I will fly to Amsterdam for the Audio Engineering Society Conference. A McGill Alma Mater Grant and the Canadian Ministry of Education will support my trip to the Netherlands. I will have my own Online Mastering Studio where I will work with musicians from all over the world without any limitations. Thanks to ICOM, Berklee and McGill, my dreams have come true.

Always network with the people you meet in the music industry, study as much as you can and never forget where you came from. In the future, you will become somebody because you followed those points listed above. Don't ever let other people destroy your dreams or limit your choices as you follow your musical career. I am looking forward to working with you all.

Jemi Sitanayah
Professional Recording Engineer
Online Mastering Engineer
Master of Music in Sound Recording Candidate
Schulich School of Music of McGill University
Berklee College of Music Graduate (Magna Cum Laude)
International College of Music Graduate (BTP Program)
University of Atma Jaya Graduate (Cum Laude)
www.jemimusic.com