'Don't ever give up': Paralyzed Valley musician continues to compose

Musician paralyzed in accident still making beautiful music

A Valley composer is sharing his story of perseverance years after an accident left him paralyzed and unable to play the piano. FOX 10's Irene Snyder has more on what he's overcome, and how he is continuing to make beautiful music.

PHOENIX - Every single note is meaningful for DeMarco Castro.

What they're saying:

 "It gives me life, gives me a purpose," he said.

Music has fueled his life for as long as he can remember. "I started playing piano when I was five, got a scholarship at seven, and I'm classically trained," he said.

Before he knew it, Castro was playing professional-level concertos by classical composers like Beethoven, Mozart, and Chopin. "I attended Eubanks Conservatory of Music and Arts for 10 years," Castro added.

DeMarco Castro

And then, he started composing. "I wrote my first song at 12, but it was not that good. I started slowly getting better, but it was a calling," Castro said. The rhythm often mimicked the ups and downs, the slow and fast periods in his life.

‘I felt betrayed’

But nine years ago, life dictated a rest in his music, at least for a few beats. Castro broke his neck in a work accident; a second fall a couple of years later left him paralyzed almost from the neck down.

"I felt betrayed, I feel betrayed. It's not fair. Broke my heart, broke my heart. It was devastating. I still see a piano, and it hurts," Castro said.

His playing days were over, but his compositions were just beginning. "It's the love of music. You can't take the rockstar out of a fall. You have to continue with writing music," he said. "It's just a passion, the mission to compose."

Record producer and composer Donald Kehl recalled the moment Castro reached out. "He called and told me about it and said he still wanted to do music," Kehl said. "I said, 'Well, let's get you a sequencer,' and I said that's how we record."

Kehl helped Castro download a software called "Score Creator."

"This is the program that I use here. It has notation basically on the song. If I need to change a note, I highlight it, for example there, and choose to delete it. So it's very, very complex. And it'll play it for me, okay, that's not right or wrong," Castro explained.

With limited mobility in his hands, Castro can only compose one note at a time. "It's very time-consuming, very particular. It's so much easier to play and edit what you need. You really have to have musicality to pull this off," he said. "So I go back, and I listen to it and if the note is wrong, I fix it."

So far, Castro has written three albums in addition to a Christmas album, and he is nowhere near done yet. "I'm gonna be doing this till I die," he said.

‘Don’t ever give up'

Composing is what brings him a sense of peace and purpose. "I still have the love of existing cause you have to be careful—you either exist or you live. But with music, I'm living. I'm not just existing," Castro said.

DeMarco Castro

Because he still has many more songs inside him that he wants to share with the world, he encourages others who might be struggling to never give up.

"Don't ever give up. Do what you love and choose your art form," Castro said. "It's not over, just the beginning of something else."