And the Celebrity I met in 2018 was…

Hello everybody to the last blog week of 2022! It's Christmas time and I'm in a cheerful mood, even if it is really cold. If you hadn't noticed from last month's blogs, I mentioned a lot of things that I was grateful for. That was because I was feeling the spirit of Thanksgiving and I realized that I have so much to be grateful for! Now it's December and I feel like sharing Christmas memories, one for each year in college. Today I'll start with an impactful memory I had in December of 2018, just before my first semester ended.

Before I begin, consider refreshing yourself on my previously written blogs, I Sigh to Sing and Tchaikovsky’s 1812- The Best Part of the Concert In the Park. As I have mentioned in those blogs, I originally was playing Cello when I became a part of the music program. So in November and the beginning of December of my first semester, I was practicing Christmas songs on my Cello for the final orchestra concert. We were going to perform with some celebrity I didn't know and didn't bother learning about. I was going through the motions. I had talked to my advisor and had officially decided that I was going to switch my major to voice. I just wanted to get this concert and all my finals over with so I could enjoy the holidays.

On the day before the concert, we were having a dress rehearsal practice, and our guest star was supposed to join us as well. Before this celebrity arrived, we tuned our instruments and practiced some of the songs. Then our conductor stopped us and formally announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Nathan Pacheco to the stage."

Everyone gave a round of applause to him, and I joined in half heartedly. For those of you who are huge fans of Nathan Pacheco, I don't blame you if you're insulted by the way I was acting. But as I was clapping something unexpected happened. As a cellist, I am always sitting on on the right side of the conductor. Since Pacheco came in on the left side of our conductor, I was in a perfect position to be able to see him and the big smile on his face. As he got closer there was a thought that came into my head saying, This is the kind of guy you need to ask about fulfilling your dreams. This thought caught me off guard and I kept thinking about it throughout the rehearsal. 

In fact, the more we rehearsed the more I felt interested in doing so. He was so genuine and respectful to us. He also showed how much dedication he had on being a part of this performance. He had shown up even though his son had gotten sick and passed along the cold to him. Remember, this was winter of 2018. It was a while before Covid would hit, so at the time it was very admirable of him to show up and practice with us. He just made sure to mark his voice so that he had enough strength for the performance. 

By the end of the rehearsal, I was so excited but also nervous to go up and talk to him. I decided that I would put my Cello away and come back to my seat to get my sheet music folder and other items I left. This time, I decided to "casually" get to my Cello case by walking in the direction of Pacheco. As I did so, a technician asked him to practice playing his guitar underneath the microphone. He agreed to do so and walked farther away from me to where the mic was, leaving a bigger gap between me and him. I wanted to catch up to him so badly, but I didn't want to look like an obsessed fan. So I kept my casual pace hoping that I'd somehow catch up to him before he started playing.

He must have heard footsteps behind him or some other way of knowing that there was someone behind him because just before he reached the mic he turned around and looked at me. "Hello, what's your name?" He asked me with a smile.

He asked me where I was from and we then started having a conversation that made me feel like we were equals. But just as quickly as the conversation had started, he gave me a signal that it was time for him to play his guitar, calling me by name and saying, "Well it was nice to meet you."

I panicked and realized that I had gotten caught up by his curiosity in who I was that hadn't asked him my question! "Wait, I want to ask you a question." He turned his focus back on me. "What did you do to get this far as a musician?"

He was obliged to answer my question and told me that after he finished college he had an opportunity to audition for something. That was followed by another opportunity followed by another. He also mentioned a talk by Elder Jeffrey R Holland that had inspired him. When he finished answering my question, he asked me why I wanted to know. I told him that even though I play Cello I also have a love for singing and composing music. I wanted to use my talents to make an impact on the world, and I wanted to know how I could do so. He responded to my answer by saying, "That's beautiful."

He wished me luck and invited me to look for the talk he mentioned. We said farewell to each other and I went home. The next day, we had a morning dress rehearsal to practice one more time before we would perform that night. Nathan Pacheco was still sick, but he still participated and would simply rest his voice sometimes. At the end of the rehearsal, a bunch of the orchestra members lined up to get an autograph or picture with him. He granted each student's wish. I'm lucky that I was able to have a personal conversation with him the day beforehand!

After our afternoon break, we were required to come back to the auditorium an hour before it was time to perform. I was rosining my bow and wiping the dust off my Cello backstage and happened to look up as Pacheco was walking by. He saw me as well and wished me good luck, calling me by name once again. I couldn't believe it. He still remembered my name!

The performance had begun. Every seat was taken and everyone was enjoying the opportunity to accompany or listen to Nathan Pacheco. Even when he coughed. The people in the audience actually cheered louder when he did so. I was enjoying the experience myself and sometimes quietly sang the Christmas songs while playing whole notes on my Cello. Before I knew it, we only had a few songs left to perform. At the end of one song, Pacheco addressed the audience and said, "Who's heard of Jeffrey R Holland?"

The audience laughed for a moment. He then started to tell them a story of when he was at Brigham Young University. He had just gotten home from a tour in Italy and was contemplating on the possibility of pursuing his dreams as a musician. He went to a devotional that Elder Holland was giving a talk at the BYU auditorium. As he spoke I knew that Pacheco was talking about the same talk he told me about during our conversation we had the day before. He told the audience that he was sitting in the back of the auditorium and something that Elder Holland said touched him though he sat so far away. "God is willing to answer our prayers and fulfill our dreams, but He can't do that if we don't pray and we don't dream. In short, He can't do that if you don't believe." 

After sharing that quote, Pacheco said to the audience, "You are all a part of my dream."

Tears started streaming down my cheeks. His dream was to share beautiful music with people. That's how I felt about music. I wanted to share my songs with others and I wanted them to have a connection with my music. I wiped away my tears hoping that no one was noticing. I was so touched by this. It felt like God was speaking to me personally and that Nathan Pacheco was setting the example of who I wanted to become.

As the last song ended, we received a standing ovation and so many people crowded the hallway outside the auditorium to get autographs from Pacheco. I waited in the line to get an autograph as well, but I mostly wanted to get one more chance to talk to him so that I could thank him for sharing his story and helping me realize that I can live my dreams. When I got to the table where he was signing things, I did just that and he listened with a sincere look on his face. Then he said something that I hope I'll never forget and always remember when I have a hard time with my music projects. Saying my name one last time he told me, "Keep on dreaming."

I left the building happy and excited to make my dreams a reality. Little did I know that I would have the dream to start a YouTube channel and then later on sell the sheet music of my original songs on my own personal website. Even though I didn't have those dreams at that time, they have now become a reality! And even though I'm not performing to people in Concert Halls and auditoriums all around the world like Nathan Pacheco, I'm still fulfilling the hopes I had in 2018. With YouTube, I can share my songs with others and help them have a connection with my music.

You are a part of my dream.

Speaking of my YouTube music, you can check them out right here. You can also buy the sheet music to my original songs and donate to my website! Comment below on a celebrity that you have met or wish to meet. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Keep on dreaming everyone.