Rolando Ramirez

Rolando Joel Ramirez, known to us as Roland, who grew up in Moses Lake before settling in Coral Gables, Florida, passed away peacefully on Feb. 25 surrounded by family and loved ones in Fort Lauderdale. He was 30. Roland was born in February 1993 to Rudy Ramirez Jr. and Rosalinda Saenz. In middle school, Roland began his passion for music that influenced him to follow his dreams of being in the music industry. Roland earned numerous awards and honors playing for the high school band, which was capped off by earning a spot in the Honor Band to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City, after an audition. He graduated from Moses Lake High School in 2011. After graduating high school, Roland earned his associate’s degree at Big Bend Community College and continued to follow his dream and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in music performance with an emphasis in jazz from Washington State University, graduating with cum laude honors. In July of 2020, Roland received a call from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, letting him know he was accepted in the music program. You could not wipe the smile off his face. Hours later, he received another call. It was from the Los Angeles College of Music, where you guessed it, it was too late. Not that he would have chosen differently. Roland packed his belongings and along with a buddy, drove across the U.S. and found his new home in Coral Gables. Roland graduated spring of 2022 with a master’s degree in music business and entertainment. The day of graduation, while preparing for the ceremony, Roland received a call and was offered his first job with his master’s degree, as a music data analyst. He was currently working for 1021 Creative. He was very self-driven and motivated, and worked tremendously hard to earn all his accomplishments.