Keys to success: Moses Lake man works toward performing dream
MOSES LAKE — Jesse Alvarado, 53, is still chasing his dream of being a full-time performing pianist after a couple of setbacks.
Alvarado has cerebral palsy, affecting his entire body. This makes it difficult for him to perform certain tasks or functions. More specifically, he can only use nine out of 10 fingers; his right thumb does not bend or move like it is supposed to.
Being a self-taught pianist, Alvarado has shown he will not let his condition stop him from following his passions. He has been playing the piano for about 10 years and said he wants to turn his passion into a full-time job.
Alvarado has worked at Samaritan Hospital for 13 years and now is in the emergency department.
“I love my job, but I would rather be performing around the country and sharing my gift,” Alvarado said.
Alvarado does not play piano in the way most people would with sheet music, instead he plays from the heart and from music he has memorized from practice. Something comes over him, Alvarado said, and he just lets it flow. He doesn’t refer to it as winging it, but here is a more spiritual reason.
“It feels like angels are there with me and taking over my fingers,” Alvarado explained.
To make his dream a reality, Alvarado decided to audition for America’s Got Talent (AGT). He was supposed to audition in 2019, but his father passed away and the producers for AGT allowed him to postpone his audition. Then the coronavirus pandemic came along and stalled things even more.
In the last few months, Alvarado finally is scheduled to have his audition again, he said. The audition will be in Los Angeles, but he doesn’t have a specific date yet. Until then, he is practicing his audition pieces and a video he wants to be played behind him during the audition.
His audition piece is split into four pieces with their own meaning. The first part is a song he wrote for his wife, Charlotte. Another part relates to mental health and homelessness. One part will be on the spot and the final part he calls his grand finale and is a tribute to fallen law enforcement officers.
Alvarado posts his playing to Facebook and Youtube. He plays whenever he can and puts in hours of work each week. He not only plays at home, but at the Numerica Performing Arts Center and Pybus Public Market in Wenatchee, and at The Home Center and Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake.
He also has a GoFundMe set up to help with expenses related to the audition, such as travel and lodging. Anyone wanting to help Alvarado can find his GoFundMe under the name “Jesse Alvarado, The Piano Man.”
Alvarado said he has appreciated everyone who has helped him on his journey so far. Some of those people or businesses include A & H Printers, Moses Lake Police Chief Kevin Fuhr, Moses Lake Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services Department and Jagrut Shah from Beyond the Call of Duty.
Rebecca Pettingill can be reached via email at rpettingill@columbiabasinherald.com.
