Rising Stars: Meet Kurt Tijamo of Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kurt Tijamo.

Hi Kurt, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started out pretty musical from the get-go, being a Filipino-American. Growing up, there was always music in the house and karaoke at family gatherings, so I guess it’s only natural that I would grow up to be a singer! My dad also plays piano and composes music, and he taught me to play when I was really young. So classical was also a staple in my household.

When I turned 13, my parents bought me an acoustic guitar, and my fate was sealed. Just like every other teenager does when they receive the most popular instrument used in popular music for the past century, I started writing my own songs and learning as many as I could find! I was even in a rock band. Quite the walking, talking cliche for a teenager but I had a blast.

When I was a senior in high school, I joined my school choir and started taking private voice lessons because I wanted to be a better singer for my rock band (I was really, really sold on the rockstar thing – secretly still am). It was there that I discovered a love for musical theater and opera, a love that embedded itself so deeply that I decided to major in it! I went on to study opera at California State University Northridge & the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. I lived in San Francisco for 5 years singing Opera and performing Musical Theater before deciding to come home to Los Angeles.

Nowadays I’ve decided to expand my horizons beyond sung theater, and have returned to the world of choirs, concerts and songwriting. And now that I’ve decided to broaden my musical scope in that way, I also can admit that I’ve always secretly loved singing in the classical crossover genre too haha. As someone that’s always felt like a jack-of-all-trades musician, something about taking bel canto technique to more contemporary popular textures has always resonated with me. At the same time I’m also taking time to return to my roots, and recall the joy I felt in music when I was a kid playing guitar in his bedroom! It’s a fun project for me to find equal expressive freedom between accompanied by big, bombastic orchestras and a lone acoustic guitar.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Well you know, it’s funny you ask, because there was this one thing that happened about, what, six years ago now? Haha. But in all seriousness, I think you’d be hard pressed to find a musician that has not faced some trials and tribulations on their journey, be it a global pandemic or a rejection from a school you really wanted to get into. But early on, one has to learn to accept that rejections will come in equal abundance victories, and you just have to learn to recognize as many victories as you can!

It’s been a long journey to get to the point where I am now. But if there has ever been an overarching struggle I’ve faced as an artist, it’s been a feeling like I had to choose what kind of artist I want to be and live in that box. I used to feel like I loved too many things, when really I’ve just always loved music in any form that it found me in. So now I’m learning to embrace that I really can just do whatever I want to do, and make any kind of music I want to make. Exhilarating, overwhelming, but in the end, Liberating.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’d say I’m proudest to call myself an eclectic musician. I’d love to be known as the guy that everyone’s like “Ohhh what’s he gonna be able to pull off next!?” If you listen to my Spotify, my songs all have a different vibe, but they all also sound uniquely like me. All of the songs I’ve released as Kurt Tijamo have been self-produced, so it’s my playing and my arranging shining through, albeit in a couple different genres. I’m not opposed to working with another producer or arranger on any of my songs, far from it, because part of being a classical or musical theater singer is being able to collaborate with a director and other musicians. But I am hoping to continue to refine a signature sound for Kurt Tijamo so that no matter what genre I’m doing, people know it’s unmistakably me.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Music: A Subversive History by Ted Gioia is always a favorite book to revisit to remind myself of the broader scope of music and what it has meant to, and how it has functioned for, human beings over time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/kurttijamo
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kurttijamomusic/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@KurtTijamoMusic
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@kurttijamomusic

Image Credits
Laura Auer
Ines Flores
Alyssa Burns