Going Against The Grain: Bernadette “Dette” Buentipo

Winner of the 2011 Kollaboration Houston, Dette Buentipo, started her musical journey at the young age of 4 when her mother began teaching her piano lessons and encouraged her to start developing her voice. At age 6, she began piano instruction in a college setting and performed regularly in the Dallas area. At the same time, Dette was a dedicated cantor at church and shared her voice at various Filipino celebrations. At age 15, she began playing the guitar, which paved a way for her music career. In 2008, she made the move to follow the YouTube frenzy and began posting videos, singing some of her favorite songs, and later, her own original compositions. This brought her to start singing and playing the guitar for open mics and concerts in Dallas and developing a fan base. Since then, she organized a benefit concert for the Philippines, performed in several concerts and events around the Dallas/Fort Worth area and released her first EP in early 2010. When she isn’t performing, she is writing, as life continues to inspire her. In 2009, Dette received a Bachelor of Music with a degree in Piano Performance from Texas Christian University. She now has her own private piano studio and teaches all over the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. Dette’s passion for music is evident as she continues to share her gift of music with whomever will listen.

Full Name

Bernadette “Dette” Buentipo

Hometown

Dallas, TX

Current City

Fort Worth, TX

Ethnicity

Filipino

What does it mean to you to “Go Against The Grain?”

To me, to “go against the grain” means having individuality, being oneself and not following the norm or being influenced by society.

What made you decide to pursue a career in the music industry?

Music has been a part of my life since I was 4, when my mother taught me how to play the piano and encouraged me to start singing. Ever since then, my passion for music grew more and more, and as I got older, realized that these talents that God gave me had to be pursued. I started playing guitar in high school and discovered a new side of my music career – I loved singing and playing guitar. In college, I studied music and got my degree in Piano Performance, and at the same time, started singing and playing the guitar in public at several events and open mics, and began writing my own original songs. Now to this day, I’m still growing as a musician, but I never question the path that I have chosen for myself.

What have been some of the challenges you faced/lessons you learned as an Asian American in this field?

Asian Americans have never been given enough recognition in the music industry, but recently, Asian American musicians have emerged in the YouTube scene, where several artists have become successful and built a huge fan base just by posting videos on YouTube. Many of them are not even signed to major record labels, but are still very successful. It gives me a lot of hope – that I can get my music out there and share my songs with others by using mediums like YouTube, social media, and other online resources.

What do you feel is your biggest accomplishment, and why?

My biggest accomplishment so far was when I organized a benefit concert in 2009 for the typhoon victims in the Philippines and raised over $1,000 dollars and collected several boxes of food and clothing. I gathered several local artists to help me put on a concert, and we performed for a full house – it was a huge success! I didn’t expect to raise that much money. It was such a good feeling to be able to give back and help those in need. I hope to do another charity event like that in the near future.

What’s up next?

I’m going to continue writing music, and hopefully release another EP soon. Hopefully I’ll be presented with more opportunities to perform too, because I love performing. We’ll see what lies ahead!