After taking a yearlong sabbatical, Mr. Fiori, director of the school’s instrumental music program, is back at Belmont Hill this fall.
During his sabbatical, Mr. Fiori worked on an album project that dived into jazz fusion, blending jazz, electric funk, and even some classical elements. For him, it was a productive year of writing and recording. During all this, he worked with musicians in both Brooklyn and Massachusetts, spending time tracking rhythm section parts for keyboard, bass, and drums. Some more steps of the project included adding horn parts like trumpets and saxophones, as well as guitar solos. Though the album remains a work in progress, it allowed him to fully engage with his music, which he rarely has time for during the school year.
Beyond creative works, Mr. Fiori also devoted time to his family, especially his two children, aged nine and twelve. He appreciated the extra moments spent with them as a dad because he was less busy with work. Towards the end of the year, Mr. Fiori and his family traveled to Italy and Greece, visiting Pompeii and the Roman ruins there. As an art history teacher, he enjoyed seeing his own kids get excited about the historical landmarks and art. The time away also allowed him to observe music programs at three other independent schools and teach future music teachers at Berklee. He saw how other schools structured their music programs and found that very useful.
Now that he has been given the time to recharge and explore personal and professional projects, Mr. Fiori returns to Belmont Hill with new ideas and expresses excitement about being able to reconnect with his students and ensembles, especially in seeing how much his students have grown in the past year.
