A Life in Music

Saxophonist Bill Tiberio, who has been teaching at Fairport High School for 36 years, has helped thousands of students of all ages learn how to play and love jazz and other forms of music.

By Mike Costanza

Saxophonist, band leader and music teacher Bill Tiberio looked back on his life with a touch of wonder.

“I was so lucky to match what I could do with what I ended up doing,” the 62-year-old Farmington resident said. “I’ve found a place in my life to be myself and it includes what I do for work.”

Music permeates just about all aspects of Tiberio’s life. During 40 years as a music teacher and band director, 36 of them at Fairport High School, Tiberio has helped thousands of students of all ages learn how to play and love jazz and other forms of music.

His skills as an educator and devotion to his students have earned him numerous awards, including one from the Rochester Music Hall of Fame.

Tiberio is also a popular musician who has entertained audiences all over Upstate New York and as far away as New York City.

During the CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival, he mounted a downtown stage to lead his group, the Bill Tiberio Band, in jazz performances that drew loud applause. Not bad for a guy who originally started out playing a different instrument than the saxophone.

Tiberio grew up and attended public schools in Fairport. He was a fifth grader at the Johanna Perrin Middle School when he first picked up the clarinet that his father, also named Bill, had played as a student.

“I didn’t know much about it, but I loved the sound of the clarinet,” he said.

Tiberio studied and played the clarinet, but as a junior at Fairport High decided to pick up the saxophone as well. Clarinet players couldn’t perform with the school’s jazz ensemble.

“To be part of the jazz ensemble, which I thought was really cool when I was in high school, that was the attraction of the saxophone,” Tiberio said.

Tiberio bought a used sax, took a few quick lessons from friends, then decided to really learn how to play it on his own. At the same time, he began listening to notable jazz musicians, seeking to learn from them. David Sanborn, who died this year, particularly influenced the young musician.

“He had a very unusual sound that really appealed to me,” Tiberio
said. “There was a soulful, vocal quality to it.”

Though Tiberio majored in clarinet while acquiring a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in music education, he continued to play the sax and learn its secrets.

“I was definitely attracted to the soulful nature of that instrument and the kinds of music that it lent itself toward — jazz and gospel music and Latin music, all kinds of music,” he said.

After graduating, Tiberio embarked on a career as an educator. Because he was teaching music, it was easy for him to connect with students.

“If you do it at a high level with students that are interested in it and do it over a number or years, you develop a tremendous rapport…with those students,” Tiberio said. “I’ve been so lucky. I’ve been around students that really wanted to do well.”

He has particularly enjoyed helping his students make use of the opportunities for improvisation that jazz offers.

“When you get a student to improvise, it’s very exciting,” Tiberio said. “You’re asking them to take everything they know and everything they hear and everything they feel and create something in the moment.”

In addition to shaping young musicians at Fairport High, Tiberio teaches jazz and conducts jazz and wind ensembles part-time for the University of Rochester’s Eastman Community Music School, SUNY Geneseo and Ithaca College.

His skills as an educator and dedication to his students have earned him numerous awards, including the Rochester Music Hall of Fame’s Ned Corman Educator Award. The award, which was first given out this year, is named for Ned Corman, who led music programs at the Penfield Central school District for 26 years and founded The Commission Project, which drew musicians and schools together in order to foster music education.

Jack Whittier, president of the nonprofit’s board of directors, said Tiberio was a top contender
for  the award.

“He has been a fixture in Fairport for years and the quality of the music program there has Bill’s fingerprints all over it,” Whittier said. “He’s a terrific player, and he has dedicated his career to sharing his musical talents and knowledge with all his students and colleagues and helping them find their way on their musical journey.”

The Rochester Music Hall of Fame presented Tiberio with his award at a gala celebration that took place in the Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre on May 5. Though he’s received many other accolades, this one really touched him.

“I’ve heard from so many people, former students and friends and other teachers, that were so happy for me, so that was incredibly special,” he said.

The Ned Corman Educator Award was also posthumously presented to the late Johnny Cummings, who taught music at schools in the Rochester region and led the Monroe County Parks Band.

 

A Top Teacher

If you want to know how good a teacher Bill Tiberio is, just ask Bob Clark.

“He’s hands-down one of the top one or two teachers I’ve ever encountered in my 30 to 31 years of teaching and being an administrator,” the Fairport High School principal said.

The music educator’s personal style is a big part of his success in the classroom.

“He is an amazing listener,” Clark said. “He remembers details about kids and checks in with them.”

Mike MacArthur said Tiberio was not just a music teacher to him.

“He gave me all the tools I needed, not only the tools as a musician, but as a person and human being, to be successful and do things the right way,” the 1993 Fairport High graduate said. “He’s just one of the best guys I’ve ever met in my life.”

The two developed a bond that has continued to this day.

“He’s been my mentor and one of my best friends for over 30 years,” MacArthur said.

Tiberio’s instruction and assistance certainly may have borne fruit. MacArthur is a professional saxophone player and has toured or played with a long list of famous jazz and rock musicians, including jazz singer Diane Schuur, the late jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson and the legendary singer Frankie Valli. He recently traveled from his home in Tampa, Florida, to play with the band of award-winning recording artist Gino Vannelli
at the Syracuse International
Jazz Fest.

CHECK OUT OUR RELATED STORY: Love of Jazz