Water Your Own Grass

Tuesday, Aug 11, 2026 • Jayce K. Smith : Contact

For some students, college is the beginning of a career. For Gabriel Parker, it was the continuation of a dream that refused to let go.

While many of his friends were settling into nine-to-five jobs, spending weekends in Uptown Dallas and building lives that looked successful from the outside, Parker found himself drawn somewhere else entirely.

Deep Ellum. The music. The stage. The possibility.

"I always wanted to go to Deep Ellum," he said. "Being around the music and being around the performance became not only something I did—it became a lifestyle."

Today, the University of Texas at Arlington music graduate has performed at Globe Life Field multiple times, shared stages with internationally acclaimed jazz artists, joined the Grammy voting body, launched viral music projects viewed by millions, and recently shared the stage with the legendary Wu-Tang Clan. Less than 48 hours later, he was back at UTA celebrating another milestone: graduation.

But none of those accomplishments happened overnight.

In fact, Parker's journey looked very different from the traditional college experience.

"I had a late start in life," he said.

As an older student balancing coursework, rehearsals, performances, and bills, Parker often found himself juggling responsibilities that many of his classmates had not yet encountered. While others focused solely on school, he was learning how to navigate adulthood and higher education simultaneously.

There were sacrifices.

Missed birthdays.

Missed celebrations.

Lost weekends.

The same weekends musicians often spend performing while everyone else is making memories.

"You're putting on a show for somebody," Parker said. "But sometimes you miss out a little bit on your own life."

Still, he kept showing up.

And UTA kept opening doors.

Parker quickly immersed himself in the College of Liberal Arts, where he discovered that his education extended far beyond the practice room.

One day he might find himself discussing philosophy with classmates. Another day, talking politics with historians. On another, exchanging ideas with architects, writers, and researchers.

"I feel as if because COLA has so many disciplines that represent humanity, I got to immerse myself in what humanity really had to offer," he said.

That broader perspective shaped him not only as a musician, but as a storyteller.

And music, particularly jazz, became his language.

Unlike many genres, jazz demands spontaneity. It requires musicians to create in real time—to trust their instincts, training, and imagination.

"Here and now, I'm composing for you," Parker said. "I'm making melodies and harmonies up as I go along."

That ability to listen, adapt, and create in the moment would serve him well as his opportunities expanded.

One of the defining moments came on the stage of Arlington's Levitt Pavilion.

Backed by UTA's Jazz Orchestra and performing alongside acclaimed saxophonist Vincent Herring, Parker stepped onto one of the city's most visible stages and felt something shift.

"When you're about to perform on the stage and you're walking out, it's like the stage grows in size," he recalled. "I don't know how it got bigger, but it did."

Then he looked out.

Thousands of people spread across the lawn.

Waiting.

Listening.

Trusting him with their attention.

"You feel like a small piece of this grand thing," he said. "Almost like I'm on top of this altar, and we're about to have this ceremony for the people."

That idea—music as service—appears throughout Parker's story.

Whether performing jazz standards, singing at Globe Life Field, or sharing the stage with some of the biggest names in music, he sees every performance as an opportunity to represent something bigger than himself.

"I am representing my colleagues, my professors, my friends, my family," he said. "I am giving back to the community."

Perhaps nowhere is that more evident than through his passion project, The Unlockable Characters.

The series brings together musicians—many of them current UTA students and alumni—to reimagine music from cartoons, anime, video games, and pop culture. Some videos have generated millions of views online.

But the numbers are not what matter most.

One performance, a recreation of music from the animated series ¡Mucha Lucha!, connected deeply with audiences across the world. Viewers from Mexico, Venezuela, Canada, China, and beyond shared stories about what the music meant to them growing up.

Then an underclassman approached Parker.

The student explained how meaningful it had been to participate in a project that reflected his family's culture and experiences.

In that moment, Parker realized the project had become something larger than a performance.

It had become representation.

Connection.

Community.

"All the boxes were checked right there," he said.

The mentors who helped shape that perspective remain central to his story.

He credits UTA faculty members Tim Ishii and Dr. Will Townsley for helping guide his development, but he also points to a pivotal encounter with internationally acclaimed trumpeter Ashlin Parker during the UTA Jazz Festival.

The experience changed the way he viewed success.

"He taught me what it was like to be a top-notch musician, but also a wonderful educator and a friend of the community and the people," Parker said.

That lesson resurfaced years later when he found himself backstage meeting artists he once idolized.

Instead of being overwhelmed by the moment, he found himself appreciating something deeper.

The humanity behind the accomplishments.

"We broke bread. We ate. We hung out," he said. "I got to see them as people."

As graduation arrives, Parker's future is already accelerating.

There are tours.

Commercial music projects.

New collaborations.

New stages.

Yet despite everything that lies ahead, the lesson he carries from UTA is surprisingly simple.

Persevere.

As a student in his thirties, there were moments when balancing school, work, performances, and everyday responsibilities felt impossible.

But he learned to trust the process.

"Tomorrow comes," he said. "And the next day. And the next day. So long as I stand firm and I do what I need to do the best that I can do it, tomorrow is going to be a lot brighter."

It's a lesson reflected in the words engraved inside his class ring.

A reminder of the journey that brought him here.

A reminder of the stages still waiting ahead.

"The grass is always greener where it is watered," Parker said.

Then he smiled.

"Water your own grass."