Mr. Del Pizzo discusses his 16 year tenure as a Malvern teacher and lifelong love of music.

Mr. Del Pizzo is a voting member of the Recording Academy, is the President of his own band, and the owner of his own record label.

Del Pizzo said that although music was something he “always did”, he remembered a specific instance in second grade when he was invited to a concert at St. Aloysius Academy.

“I thought to myself, ‘this is what I want to do’, and I did it my whole life,” he said.

When it comes to instruments, Del Pizzo plays “a lot of them, but the only ones that you would probably pay to hear me play are drums and trumpet and maybe a little bit of keyboard.”

Del Pizzo has a degree in both business administration and economics, and he worked in marketing for over a decade. However, he never thought of being a music teacher until later in his life.

I always pursued music.” Del Pizzo said. “But [I] never thought about being a music teacher until I was 38 [or] 39, I started thinking ‘boy if I did it over again, maybe I would’ve been a teacher instead of business.”

Del Pizzo said that he thinks Malvern hired him “on a whim.”

“I applied because Mr. Ostick said they were looking for a teacher here, and he was my neighbor, so he kind of got me in the door,” Del Pizzo said. “I handed out my CD to everyone, they were impressed, and they hired me.”

Del Pizzo now teaches Music Recording & Technology, Drum Line, Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Improv, and has taught Pop Culture and Multimedia in the past.

Outside of Malvern, Del Pizzo owns his own recording label, is President and Owner of his band, Del’s Groove, and is also a freelance musician.

Del Pizzo was on the list to be nominated for a Grammy for his CD in the smooth jazz category in 1998, although he did not get a nomination. He gets invited to the award ceremony every year, but has not been able to go yet.