René Villarreal
“Any concerts I have played, both ensemble and solo, will always be experiences I will remember as I continue towards the end of my degree program at Austin Peay.”
Major: Music Performance and Education
Hometown: Clarksville, Tennessee
Involvement: National Association for Music Education, Community School for the Arts, Center of
Excellence in the Creative Arts
Like many other Austin Peay students, it’s hard for René Villarreal to pin down his hometown.
Growing up in a military family, he became accustomed to packing up his life every six months or so to follow his father’s service.
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But it was during Villarreal’s high school years in Clarksville where his desire to come to Austin Peay was cemented.
“When I was a senior, a graduate student in the APSU guitar program came to my school and played for the guitar class there, and ever since I have been driven to play music through all the difficulties it presents,” Villarreal said.
The senior music education and performance major has worked both on campus and in the community during his college career, teaching ukulele to homeschool students through both the Community School for the Arts and the Center for Excellence in the Creative Arts.
As a guitar specialist, Villarreal credits the APSU music program and Professor Stanley Yates for making Villarreal a “perfectionist.”
“The APSU music program has prepared me in many ways for after graduation but one major quality I have developed is being a perfectionist,” he said. “Having to stay in a locked room for hours on end playing eight notes as slow as possible trying to make the best possible sound does a lot towards that.”
