When
meeting 11 year old Rocco Fiorentino, it’s easy to be captivated by his
dimpled smile and charming style! It’s just as impressive to listen to
him play piano, perhaps a jazz composition he composed, or sing one of
his favorite jazz standards. Added to his talent on the piano is the
drums and sax. Plus, he has perfect pitch, which is understandable since
music was piped into his incubator during the early months of his
premature life.
Rocco
Fiorentino was born four months early, weighing only one and a half
pounds. He spent the first six months of his life at Children’s Hospital
of Philadelphia and, after 12 surgeries he was released with no sight.
Rocco was born with sight, but lost his vision due to the high levels of
oxygen needed to keep him alive. And, knowing this, it makes it even
more incredible that this young man awakes with a smile and doesn’t
understand negative thinking. With this outlook on life, he’s already a
“star,” but watching him on stage, his star quality is even more
evident.
Rocco
has been performing for years, but perhaps most exciting was his recent
appearance at Birdland, the famed music club in New York. Performing in
Jim Caruso’s Cast Party where guests are invited to sing one song, the
crowds cheered, he was asked to sing a second song and then Jim asked
him to return to Birdland as often as he likes! In the Cast Party at
Birdland newsletter, Jim Caruso said, “Perhaps most thrilling was
a performance by a very cool ten-year old kid named Rocco Fiorentino.
Rocco sings like a bird, has perfect pitch, plays piano and drums...and
has been blind since birth. You can't know how he captivated the crowd
at Birdland. He made a very entertaining night extra-special, and we
can't thank him enough!"
The
inspiration behind The Little Rock Foundation, a non-profit organization
that his parents formed to support other children who are visually
impaired or blind, Rocco is a guest speaker at schools and senior
groups, sharing his life’s experiences, demonstrating how to use a
Braille writer and bringing a copy of one of his favorite books, Harry
Potter, written in Braille. Truly an inspiration, he says about his
school experiences, “I like to visit schools because the more people who
know about blindness, the better.” When asked how the students react, he
said, “Some kids say, ‘Braille is really neat! It’s like a secret code.’
I’m glad I can help increase their awareness.”
Besides visiting schools, Rocco has made an impact on government,
increasing allotments for services for the blind and visually impaired.
When he was only five years old, he addressed legislators at a local
budget hearing for the Department of Human Services to increase
awareness about Braille Literacy for the New Jersey Commission for the
Blind & Visually Impaired. Rocco was credited with saving the budget for
the Commission that year. The following year, Rocco spoke at a budget
hearing for the Department of Education. He talked about the lack of
services he was receiving from the State of NJ, and he was so impressive
that he was asked to speak again, this time at the State House in
Trenton to address the legislators about Braille Literacy. After this
speech, he received a standing ovation from both parties, Republicans
and Democrats, and the NJ Department of Human Services received $900,000
to increase Braille services to blind and visually impaired children
across the state.
Today, Rocco, an honor student at Signal Hill Elementary School in
Voorhees, NJ, is busy with his friends and supporting charities like
March of Dimes, for which he is a spokesperson for their premature
babies’ campaign and Variety – the Children’s Charity. He is honored to
have received such awards as the Braille Literacy Award Library of
Congress & Library for the Blind & Handicapped, the Philadelphia 76er's
Hometown Hero and he was the youngest recipient ever of a Camden County
Proclamation Award.
And,
when not studying and doing “good works”, he’s playing gigs or singing
the National Anthem at sports and other public events. Highlights of
2007 include appearances throughout the country from Colorado to the
east coast, singing the national anthem at a Philadelphia Phillies game,
helping to open the new Wildwood, NJ amphitheater and singing with the
Phyllies Intruders, a performance at Sesame Place, the nation’s only
theme park based on Sesame Street, and Please Touch Museum, the
children’s museum in Philadelphia, to name only a few. Standing ovations
are almost standard for this singer.
Rocco
takes an occasional day off school, with permission, to do work for the
foundation and visit students in schools. But, mostly, when not doing
school work or hanging out with friends, he can be found in the music
studio or the grand piano of their home with that fabulous smile,
crooning a Frank Sinatra tune or writing another jazz composition that
makes it hard to believe this musician is only ten years old.
