Dakota Pique, Guitar
Meet Dakota Pique. He attributes his passion for music to his grandfather whose bluegrass and “old time” music inspired Dakota at an early age. As time progressed, those folk roots hardened into the infinite variety and dynamism of hard rock and metal styles.
Once in high school, Dakota took up practicing the classical guitar as well as jazz. Since then, he has had the privilege of studying under Dr. Jeff George in both classical and jazz guitar at ULL, as well as composition and jazz improvisation under Dr. Quincy Hilliard and Dr. Garth Alper respectively.
During his time at ULL, he has played with a variety of ensembles at ULL including the Bluegrass Ensemble, Vermilion Express, and various chamber ensembles like the Blues Ensemble and the Big Band. Professionally, he has composed music for Art-Tech Fusion 2015: Water Warp and for Sonia Deville’s Loosing Thread which premiered at State of LA Danse (2015). In 2016, he also had the opportunity to compose and direct over twenty original pieces for the ULL Theatre Department’s production of Metamorphoses.
In the classroom he enjoys sharing his understanding of the various styles of music which he has studied with his students using a foundation in music theory while still remaining relevant to the musical interests of his students. He aims to inspire the same passion in his students that his grandfather’s music inspired for him.