Bio

Javier Ivan Fuentes Gonzalez is a drummer and musician who has developed the majority of his career located in Temuco (Chile), where he grew over the years having an extensive musical training.

Born in Temuco, and from a very little age, their parents sowed in him the interest for the sounds and music. At the age of five, his parents got him his first drum set. Not a long time after that and thanks to an eventual move of city, Javier joined a special program for talented children run by the Faculty of Arts and Music of the University of Chile. It is here where he acquired most of the foundations on music and rhythm that would take him to a next level on his musical journey.

After moving from one city to another in repeated occasions, Javier started a musical journey which would lead him to learn about different aspects of the study of the instrument as well as the interpretation of this. He studied with many different teachers and musicians from the central area of the country. Once he got back to Temuco, he decided to move more into a professional educational process, therefore he joined Angel Piana’s Music School in the 2006.

It is important to say that Javier was musically “raised” in the context of church music, which facilitated and influenced the taste for music in general as well as provided ear training for various music genres and styles that were played there. It is a general feature of those musicians who have grown and developed their talent in environments like this in particular that work a different approach and attitude when playing the instrument, being very versatile at all times.

After two years studying at Angel Piana’s music School, where he learned piano, musical theory and drums, just by the time he graduated from high school, Javier decided to travel to Santiago (Chile) to study at Escuela de Musica Moderna. Half of that last year in high school he spent completing a course of  classical training to prepare for his audition at the school.

For personal reasons and after 8 months of being at the music school in Santiago, Javier decides to drop off and returns to Temuco now with a better vision and perspective of what he should do in regard to his musical career.

Once back in Temuco – again – he joins the staff Angel Piana’s music school as a drum teacher. From there until the year 2012, Javier decides to travel to Santiago twice a month to get drum lessons from Ricardo Ruiz Fernandez – very well known drummer coach and teacher of many great Chilean drummers. He kept studying and engaging at gigs of several styles and genres, as well as growing in other areas as part of the music staff at the music school until the time he decided to travel to the United States, where he would go to college.

Without expecting a lot, but successfully, he found new ways of development and achievements in music throughout his time in college. This process involved music training by different teachers and well known musicians from the christian music industry – such as, Don Potter, Leonard Jones, Alfred Sergel, among other local artists and musicians from South and North Carolina. He got play at different cities in many different settings of bands as well as participating at a recording project.

Two years after completing the school program -in June 2016-, Javier returns to Chile. Ever since then, he has been fully dedicated and spent his time on an in-depth study of the drums, joining various musical projects such as a classical music orchestra, a jazz big band and some jazz quartets and quintets playing at his hometown, as well as spending time with his family.