Singer Nathan Pacheco will arrive for a concert this November for Chicago audiences. He has two PBS specials—one that aired last month with another in December—and a self-titled album. He has been compared to Josh Groban and Andrea Bocelli, and possesses a catalogue that ranges from Puccini to Leonard Cohen. His producer on the new record, Leo Z, has worked with all of them, bringing a sound that crosses genres easily.
He sings in four languages, with 15 years experience singing in Italian.
Windy City Times had lunch with the singer to get to know him better.
Windy City Times: Hello, Nathan. I heard you were trained classically.
Nathan Pacheco: Yes, it has been a work in progress but I started studying privately with a teacher in high school. My older sister is an opera singer so she was studying at the time. I was exposed to what she was doing. I was always raised with classical music in the home whether it was piano or violin. I took lessons and didn't sound too good at first but kept working at it. I am still studying with a teacher in Manhattan.
WCT: So you have to continue to take lessons?
Nathan Pacheco: Absolutely, and work [the] voice.
WCT: How do you take care of your voice?
Nathan Pacheco: The best thing for me is to get adequate rest and stay healthy. When I don't sleep, which is actually a challenge on the road going from city to city, the first thing to go are the high notes. There is only so much that you can give. Just like if you were an athlete and didn't rest your body you can blow out a muscle or something. It is similar with the voice.
WCT: You are currently traveling around promoting a PBS special?
Nathan Pacheco: Yes; the special came out a few weeks ago and is being aired in Chicago soon. I am in promotion mode right now in preparation for the album release and a tour I will be doing in November. It is a miniature tour, which will be followed by a full on tour next February and March.
WCT: Will the PBS concert be sold on video at some point?
Nathan Pacheco: Yes; in fact, PBS is offering the DVD, the CD and tour tickets.
WCT: Does your self-titled album describe you? How did you pick the songs?
Nathan Pacheco: That is a good question. It took a while. From start to finish it was a good two-year process. I worked with Leo Z, who produced the album. In my opinion, he is the most gifted musicians I have been able to work with. All the orchestrations he took care of on the album. He has a lot of talent with this crossover style but [he made] it him in a way and more accessible. He and I worked nonstop once Disney introduced me to him. We searched for the perfect cover songs we thought that would feature my voice well, but also songs I could resonate with.
WCT: Tell me about some of them.
Nathan Pacheco: "Nessun Dorma" is a classic. Even people that don't like opera like that song. There are songs like Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." We also did a lot of writing. I love to compose so I wrote some with Leo and a few other writers out there. It was a huge discovery process. We tried to incorporate different elements of folk and pop and opera to blend them all together. Each one of those are genres of music that speak to me. I felt like as a result I would be able to keep an audience when I sing those kinds of songs.
WCT: It sounds like you could cross over into the pop world, from what you are describing.
Nathan Pacheco: I will have to get you an album before it comes out and you will hear different elements of folk and pop. We have a bagpipe player that makes it sound even more like folk. His name is Eric Rigler who played on the Titanic Soundtrack, also on Braveheart. He brings an Irish folk element to it. I think this makes it unique as opposed to other crossover albums like Bocelli and Groban have done.
WCT: What is your background?
Nathan Pacheco: I am from Virginia. I was born and raised just outside of Washington, D.C. My last name comes from Brazil. My grandfather was from a town called Cubatao, south of San Paolo.
WCT: You speak Portuguese and what other languages?
Nathan Pacheco: It is my hobby to study Italian and Spanish as well, since I sing in those languages. One of the things I love besides singing is culture. I love being able to connect with people from different cultures by being able to communicating with them in other languages. It is a work in progress, like any muscle. If you don't keep it up you lose parts of it, but I am determined to keep working at it.
WCT: Many singers get the meaning fed to them, so it must be better to learn it for yourself.
Nathan Pacheco: I have noticed that it has helped me out tremendously, artistically. If you know what you are singing about you can put more heart into it, obviously. I'm grateful that I am taking this stuff seriously because it makes the concerts more worthwhile to me. I have fun because I am feeling the emotions of these songs and in turn can communicate this to others.
WCT: You sang with Katherine Jenkins on a past tour in Europe. Were you with her when she played the House of Blues last year?
Nathan Pacheco: No, I wasn't with her then.
WCT: This was before she blew up on Dancing With the Stars.
Nathan Pacheco: She was great on that. I didn't know she was such a talented dancer. I was on tour with her right before that show filmed. A couple weeks after I was with her; then, I saw all of these incredible dance moves.
WCT: I noticed at her show all of these young gay guys screaming for her on the side. She has a good gay following so maybe they will enjoy your take of opera too.
Nathan Pacheco: That would be awesome. I am very excited to share my show with the people of Chicago!
Look for Pacheco's show at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph St., on Tuesday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. See www.harristheaterchicago.org .
