By Lewis Govea

Being willing to participate in music is all you need to be a real musician. Sixth year PUC film student Nephtali “Nephta” Marin takes us on his personal music journey that puts the meaning of being a real musician into perspective.

Currently residing in Roseville, California, Marin claims that music never made a grand entrance into his life but rather was always there.

“I started piano lessons as a kid but stopped after a few years because I got bored,” Marin remarks. “Honestly, I’m not sure why I stopped.”

After his piano journey came to a sudden end, Marin continued his music journey through his school’s band.

“I started playing in band in fourth grade, and while I didn’t have an option whether to join or not, I did get to choose which instrument I wanted to play, so why not choose the loudest?”

The loudest instrument Marin refers to is, of course, the boisterous trumpet. Marin continued with the trumpet through some of high school but then took a break and didn’t play again until after being at PUC for some time.

“I got involved with the PUC music department when Matthew Guevara [a 2020 trumpet graduate] said they needed an 8th trumpet to play the easy part” states Marin, who claims to have been very out of practice at that point and would often play wrong notes. “I call it jazz,” he asserts.

Marin has learned a lot since then, but his favorite piece of advice comes from Asher Raboy, director of PUC’s Symphonic Wind Ensemble and currently the acting chair of the department. Raboy encourages everyone to use what he calls “hairpins,” where every player changes their own dynamics in waves as they see fit, according to their own part.

At the end of the day, Marin loves to participate in making music, and isn’t that all you need to be a real musician? Marin may not be a music major, but Paulin Hall is his home.

“I love the community that the music department has built there and I’m so glad I decided to participate in Symphonic Wind Ensemble even though I might not be the best,” he says. “It’s fun to express myself with music, create new friendships, make new memories, and just have a good time!”

Being a real musician doesn’t have anything to do with how good you are on the piano, or how much theory knowledge you have; being a real musician means enjoying making and listening to music, and Nephtali Marin is a prime example of the purest form of musicianship there is—a person who loves music.

Learn more about PUC’s department of music: puc.edu/music