Hearing his voice was music to her ears

Though they were both students at the Fred Fox School of Music at the University of Arizona, Saul Millan and JoAnna Park never met there.

"We were in opposite departments so we never talked or played together," Saul said.

But, they did notice each other.

That became apparent when a friend of JoAnna's asked her to hang out at Club Congress one night. That friend happened to know Saul, 22 from playing in jazz band together and he knew JoAnna, 26 was interested. 

"He randomly texted me that night saying 'Congress,'" Saul said. "But I happened to be there already ... I guess it was a scheme of his."

So, JoAnna and Saul finally met and totally hit it off.

"That night he asked me to go to Sky Bar and we were there talking for like two hours," JoAnna said.

But they didn't exchange numbers at the end of the night, which meant they didn't talk for a few days.

Until he saw her at school a couple days later. 

"I had never really seen her walking that way at school before, but I guess she arranged it so we would walk out at the same time," Saul recalled.

"I was really upset he didn't ask me for my number, so I was like, 'What's up with this guy? I'm gonna stalk him for a little bit,'" JoAnna said. 

They talked and exchanged numbers. She went to watch him perform at Sky Bar and that was it. They started dating.

"It was pretty fast," Saul said. "We've been dating about a year."

Saul plays the trombone for local bands such as Vox Urbana and Orkesta Mendoza, and JoAnna plays violin for the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. 

The couple plans to move to Mexico City in the future.

"We see ourselves freelancing in a bigger city, and we want to try somewhere outside the U.S., so we figure why not Mexico City," JoAnna said. 

First impressions

Saul: I was very intimidated by her. She was the concert master of the school orchestra and a masters student at the UA. I was intimidated by her, definitely ... It was was so confusing to me that we'd seen each other but had never talked. It was so simple to talk to her. 

JoAnna: For me, I never heard him talk before, so I never knew what his voice sounded like, but at school he walks around with this intimidating face. He's always very serious, so when I heard him talk and smile, I was like, 'Wow. That's very different.' His voice was so smooth I guess. It was a good first impression.

Favorite quality

Saul: She's very mother-like. Like wanting to take care of all of her friends, as well as me. Everybody around her, she took care of them.

JoAnna: He's very understanding. I guess before I met him I've dated kind of bad guys, if you know what I mean, and he was different in the sense that he understood. I've made some mistakes. I got drunk one night and said some offending things and he was like, 'It's okay. It happens to everyone.'

Quirky habit

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Saul: She's always telling me 'I'm gonna wear this dress' and dresses up and then immediately changes, then changes back into the first outfit. I always tell her yes on all of them.

JoAnna: We both have our own towels hanging and he always uses mine. And then I start using his and he always goes back to the one I use. I don't know why. But, I'm very OCD about that so I don't want him to use my towel.

Defining moment

Saul: It was when we kind of decided to live together. We were both looking for a new place. The first time she asked me I was like, 'No. Absolutely not.' And she asked me again like three days later and I was like, 'Why not.' I think that was a defining moment that I was gonna take it seriously.

JoAnna: It was when we visited his hometown, which is Rocky Point, Mexico for the first time and I met his family and I saw how his relationships were with his mom, grandparents and brothers. I have a very small family. It's just my brother and my mom and it was so different how they really got along. They're very different from how I grew up so when I saw that I was immediately like, 'Yes. I want to be a part of this family.'

Saul: There's a little language barrier, but they always understand each other. My grandmother always makes me be a translator. She always wants to talk to her and stuff. 

Favorite Tucson place

JoAnna: Definitely Congress because it's where we met.

Saul: We always go to the same place where we met ... On the patio there's a spot where you can see the bell ... We always stand there and have a beer. 

JoAnna: That's where we first met and where we officially became boyfriend and girlfriend.

Saul: I dropped the question on her.

Advice on supporting each other's passions

JoAnna: I think we both really try not to give any criticism about each other's work because as musicians or artists you already get that from everyone else. So we really try to support each other and if something's off, we try not to be too critical about it. Just be like, 'Maybe you can try this.'

Saul: Or 'I like to do it this way' rather than 'No that is wrong.'

JoAnna: A lot of musician couples do that.

Saul: Having a similarity in what you do is good, but also having separation from it. Not being too inclusive in each other's circles of work is a key to having a balanced relationship. 

Differences

JoAnna: I'm a very yin and yang, black and white type of person and he's very 'Everything will be fine.'

Saul: She's super structured and I'm super not structured. We balance each other out. I bring in the chill for her and she brings in the structure.

Similarities

JoAnna: We both love to eat but we both care about our weight, so it's always a struggle.

Saul: We're always looking for good places to eat.