Dean Ladrido, who listens to classical and contemporary genres of music – “I listen to a lot of music,” he says – discovered “K-pop” and tried to introduce his friends to it. “I kind of found it myself,” says the La Jolla Country Day School sophomore of the Korean pop genre. “I had my friends listen, but they don’t get it.”
Ladrido, a sort of mini-Renaissance man, is a member of the Torrey football and lacrosse teams. He combines elements of his Filipino heritage with interests in rap, hip-hop, indie, rhythm and blues and classical composers such as Bach and Vivaldi. He doesn’t speak the Tagalog Filipino tongue, but, he says, “I pick up words.” Meanwhile, he holds down a chair in the school’s chamber orchestra fingering a violin, which he began learning in the fifth grade.
Ladrido, 15, says, music is a “release” in which he can let his mind and spirit wander. “I really enjoy it,” he says, talking on a warming summer morning the week before football season workouts start. He goes both ways, playing running back and receiver in the Torreys’ fast-moving offense and cornerback on defense. “It’s fun getting pieces together (in the orchestra). We play a variety of music, including classical. But we also get some contemporary music like Coldplay.”
He likens the discipline needed to play an instrument to the time required on the football field. “The way you practice a sport, you have to do in music,” he observes. “You don’t just pick up the instrument and play amazing stuff. You have to work at it.”
For Ladrido, one of the joys of playing music is replicating parts of songs he hears on the radio. “In the song ‘Rather Be’ by Queen Bee,” he explains, “there’s a violin riff. Me and my friends were trying to play it. It’s pretty difficult. There’s a slow part and a fast part. It’s high (notes). So your hand has to move quickly (to change positions during the riff).” He obviously enjoyed attacking the piece despite its difficulty.
Another benefit in both the arts and athletics is the togetherness. Repeatedly, Ladrido points out that Country Day has a smaller enrollment than those of other schools, so members of its sports teams often play more than one position. “I enjoy the guys,” he says. “They’re great guys. I like to think our brotherhood on the football team is a factor in our success. We’re all close in age, with a lot of juniors and sophomores. During the offseason workouts, we spend a lot of time together and are able to bond with the new kids.
“A difference between music and sports is one you play on a field, the other in a concert hall,” he says. “But also, in sports you’re a team. You have to work together. In music, if one person can’t play their part, then the entire piece won’t sound as good as when everyone can play their part well.”
The sophomore doesn’t volunteer it, but when asked, he acknowledges he has quickness and speed that suit him on both offense and defense. At running back, he says, “If I can outrun a guy and avoid a hit, (I want to do that).”
Enrolled in honors algebra, chemistry and orchestra this fall, he talks about the change he had to make for the varsity lacrosse team as a freshman. “We needed defense,” he says. “Originally, I was a short-stick middie (midfielder) (after two years of playing club ball). I switched over to defense as a straight-up defender.” That’s what the team needed, so he did it. He gets enthused when asked about the Torreys’ offense in football. “We run an up-tempo offense,” he relates. “We move the ball a lot.” He gets to be part of that dynamic mix, with Braxton Burmeister as quarterback. Country Day’s season opener is August 28 at home against La Jolla High. Ladrido, who plays multiple instruments casually – among them piano, guitar and ukulele – is looking ahead to when he can drive. He got his permit recently, so he has to wait six months before he can apply for his driver’s license, even though he turns 16 in November. He figures he may be able to borrow mom and dad’s car to drive to school from Rancho Santa Fe by the end of his sophomore year. Mom and dad are Susan and Gary. The oldest of three siblings, his younger brothers are Chase and Bradley.