Stefano
San Antonio, Texas, United States | SELF
Music
Press
By Christina Rodriguez, Host of ‘The Garage’
SAN ANTONIO – Singer/songwriter Stefano has been singing and making music since sounds could come from his mouth. Partially deaf until age four and with reoccurring problems with his hearing, he has a unique appreciation of music and language.
“I wanted to find a way to really break boundaries – be able to communicate to everyone, and music does that,” Stefano explained.
With the ability to sing in English, Italian and Hebrew, and his knowledge of Latin through his studies, Stefano began to wonder the place music should have in his life. With amazing support from his entire family Stefano left his pre-med studies at UT Austin to follow his true love.
“I realized I wasn’t happy with music just as a hobby in my life,” explained Stefano.
That’s when he called his parents and asked if they’d be upset if he dropped out and came back to San Antonio.
“They told me I needed to follow my heart and do music,” he said.
Once you hear his voice, you’ll know Stefano made the right decision.
Now his family is his biggest fans.
“I called them my entourage,” Stefano joked. - WOAI News
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
Stefano, a 21-year-old singer/songwriter from San Antonio, Texas, has been singing and making music since sounds could come from his mouth. At the age of 4 he was given his first tape recorder and microphone and began recording himself singing Michael Jackson songs, even though he was legally deaf, a fact unknown to his family and himself at the time.
As a child of the early 90s, he was given a walkman and a large collection of cassette tapes including the music of Jewel, Journey, Alanis Morissette, and Hootie and the Blowfish that started his love of music. It wasn't until after his first ear surgery and the subsequent restoration of his hearing that his love of singing truly took over his life.
At the age of nine he was given his first piano and began taking lessons. At thirteen he was composing his own piano pieces and began writing them out in musical notation with the addition of his own lyrics. In high school his love of music turned classical and he took voice lessons to learn operatic singing.
Stefano has won many talent shows at the local, state, and national levels singing classical and contemporary songs. He was also selected to be a member of the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) All State choir for two years in high school.
At the end of his senior year of high school, Stefano bought a guitar and taught himself to play. His love for music grew even more as he started singing along with his new guitar… but only as a hobby at the time.
While studying neurobiology at The University of Texas at Austin, Stefano had the opportunity to perform some of his original music and realized his true calling could no longer be ignored. In early 2009 he began collecting and recording his songs, and by June he recorded his first demo.
Since then, he has been performing his music anywhere people will listen, living and sharing his personal message, to "make a joyful noise" any way he can.
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