PODCAST: Sounds of Berklee—Paul Sanchez

Paul Sanchez B.M. '16
Image courtesy of the artist
Trumpet player, composer, and music teacher Paul Sanchez(Opens in a new window) B.M. ’16 has been serious about music from a young age. At 14, he began studying at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, but even before that he was honing his trumpet skills at the National Conservatory of Music in Quito and with the Brass Band of Ecuador.
While studying in his native Quito, Ecuador, Sanchez set his sights on Berklee College of Music. After listening to Berklee faculty play from outside a bar that he was too young to enter, Sanchez's dream began to take shape.
Through the Universidad de Quito—a Berklee International Network partner institution—and after studying music at the University of North Texas, Sanchez came to Berklee on a Presidential Scholarship. Here, he shared the stage with greats such as Antonio Sanchez, Terence Blanchard, Luis Enrique, and Alejandro Sanz, with whom he would later perform at the Latin Grammys.
Sanchez, who enjoys playing jazz, Ecuadorian music, salsa, and merengue, composed the song “A Traves de Tus Ojos” (“Through Your Eyes”) about his now-wife. “I wrote this piece two years ago, describing my feelings for a very special woman,” he says, noting it depicts his awe of how she sees the world. “This is a very special song for me because this wonderful woman became my wife.”
Watch a video featuring the live version of Sanchez's "A Traves de Tus Ojos"(Opens in a new window) (Live at Berklee)(Opens in a new window).
Let’s take a listen, and then be sure to catch Sanchez on June 15 at Kendall Plaza or on June 20 at Atlantic Wharf as part of Berklee’s Summer in the City concert series.
Producer: Lesley O’Connell
Engineer: Brian Rajaratnam
Recorded at the BIRN(Opens in a new window) studios
Watch Sanchez perform with Sanz at the Latin Grammys: