By Teresa Lopez.
The switches for the lights flick on, the wires come rolling out, and the squeaks of the microphones getting put into position echo through the church.
Junior Aeron Jasper is originally from Luzon, Philippines, and he moved to Abilene in 2021, where he began playing drums and guitar for his church. His uncle introduced him to music in fifth grade and has been doing it ever since.
“I grew up in the Philippines with my grandparents and I moved here with my mom and dad,” Aeron said. “It was hard because of the language barrier but I got used to it.”
Aeron started off playing bar gigs and earning money from that. He was then introduced to the Transformation Church band by his friend Aaron Corcolon. Ever since he started his guitar journey has continued. Aeron wouldn’t be playing at his church if it wasn’t for 22-year-old Aaron Corcolon.
“Passively listening to new music helps me craft new ideas for music,” Corcolon said.
Also from the Philippines, Corcolon started playing music at three. His dad is a bass guitarist for the ministry, so he was born to play because of the music running in the family.
“I’ve learned a lot from Aaron’s life experiences,” Aeron said.
Both boys both learn a fair deal from each other. One thing Corcolon shared about learning something new from Aeron is that “Being wise and smart doesn’t come with age. Jasper acts like he’s 25.”
Aeron has faced hardships also like bullying when he came to the U.S., but he didn’t let that define him. It was only a chance to better himself and his perspective.
“Focus on yourself and take the positivity from negative situations,” Aeron said. “See the bigger picture.”
One of his struggles was speaking English but over time he gradually got better. Aeron’s main advice to people is “Keep practicing, do it because you love to do it and if that’s what you wanna do.”
