There are some people who just have that "it" factor. Their talent and charisma are undeniable. Saxophonist Nathan Woodward has accomplished more than many musicians have accomplished in their entire lives. But, friends say the thing about Woodward that makes him so special is his humility. He is a genuinely nice individual who takes nothing for granted.
"He is a wonderful, respectful, good Christian young man -- any good adjective you can think of," said Judy Nulta, Nathan's childhood piano teacher. "I just love him dearly. I couldn't be prouder if he were my own son."
Woodward's relationship with music started 20 years before he was even born, when his grandmother develped an interest in the saxophone. After "toying" around with the saxophone for a while, his grandmother placed the instrument in its case and stored it in the attic, where it remained for more than two decades.
Through an open adoption between a family in Wisconsin and a family in Mississippi, Woodward eventually moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Shortly thereafter his music was born.
"Some people call it destiny," Nathan says. "I believe that music can be genetic; it's in the blood. You just have to cultivate it." In fact, musical talent is in his blood. Nathan's great-grandparents lived as professional musicians in Colorado. Woodward started taking private piano lessons in third grade from Nulta. This was the beginning of his professional music training.
At the age of two, Nathan began singing with his mother at various church events. As a sixth-grader Woodward wanted to join the band, but his single mother could not afford to buy a brand-new instrument. Eventually, the old saxophone was resurrected from the attic.
"It was the nastiest thing that you have ever seen in your entire life," Woodward said. "Anything with leather and spit and metal all shut up in a case in an attic for 20 years -- just use your imagination as to what was in that case. Of course, as a sixth-grader I looked at it and said, I don't want anything to do with that.'"
But, they brought the instrument back to Mississippi and attempted to restore it the best they could. Woodward played his first solo, "Amazing Grace," in the spring his sixth grade year at First United Methodist Church in Pascagoula, using the old Buescher alto saxophone he found in his grandmother's attic.
Since that debut performance, he has performed at many events across the Southeastern United States.
Woodward is known for his improvisational jazz style and for his connection to the audience. With a wireless microphone attached to his saxophone, he weaves in and out of the crowd and appears where they least expect. As they hear the music over the speakers, they don't realize Woodward is standing right behind them.
"It tears down the barrier between audience and performer," he said. "A lot of times when you go to a concert, you feel like they're the performer and they're way up on stage. You're just like, wow, I wish I could do that, or I could just talk to them, or get close to them."
The crowd responds with jovial laughs and the tapping of feet. For Woodward, a born entertainer, this is his reward.
"It is an absolutely wonderful feeling that you cannot describe. I'll play the same for five people as I will for 500,000 people. It doesn't matter as long as people are there and they're enjoying themselves," he said. "It makes all the time and all the effort I've put into it worthwhile, and it lets me know that this is exactly what I need to be doing for the rest of my life."
"I want be the Kenny G of Christian music," Woodward said. "The thing is, Kenny G plays to thousands of people. Take that amount of people and add a ministry, it's unbelievable what can be accomplished."
Gerri Pierce, minister of programs at his church, remembers when Woodward and his mother, minister of children, first came to First United Methodist when Woodward was only 7 years old.
"As a child, he came to us as a considerate and loving boy," Pierce said. "He was a church child, and we all just loved him."
Pierce said Woodward quickly became a friend to everyone he met.
"No matter what age -- a child or a senior adult -- he always takes time with them," Pierce said.
Nulta said despite his success, Woodward will never forget where he came from.
"He's not just some kid who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He has overcome a lot," Nulta said. "He has character beyond measure, and he has quite a testimony."
When Woodward is complimented on his talent, he gives a gracious thank-you, but he doesn't take all the credit for his success.
"I give all the glory to God. He's the whole reason I do it," Woodward said. "He's opened up the doors for me, and all I've had to do is walk through them. That's just being faithful to the talent that I've been blessed with."
As for the old alto saxophone he found in his grandmother's attic: "I still have the horn," Woodward said. "I'm never going to get rid of the horn."
Currently, Nathan attends the University of Mobile and, under the mentorship of John Roger Breland (founder and director of GMA Hall of Fame inductee "TRUTH"), continues his musical journey.
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