Sonny comes from an extended family of musicians. His mother Gloria was a talented singer and his father Frank was a song writer and professional piano player. Sonny began playing piano at seven years old when his father started giving him lessons based on the traditional piano instruction method. After studying classical music for a couple of years, he learned the chord method of piano playing and thereafter, began developing the ability to play and enjoy pop, rock, and jazz music.
He always had a knack for improvising and through the years studied with an assortment of teachers but it wasn't until he studied with New York City Master Jazz Improvisation Teacher and Artist, Connie Crothers, a student and colleague of the late, great Jazz Pianist, Lennie Tristano, that he broke through to becoming the piano player that he is today.
His love affair with pianos dates back to the German Upright and Chickering Baby Grand Pianos that his parents owned and he played while growing up in their household. The first grand piano he himself owned was an 1892, 6'3" Chickering Grand Piano. The sublime tone and responsive action of this classic piano so impressed him that he immediately became intrigued with the world of pianos.
Sonny's Piano TV Show is the first "piano & wellness" variety TV show on the internet, cable, or network TV. Informative and entertaining, this completely original video show plays 24/7 at SonnysPianoTV.com and weekly on LONG Island Cablevison stations. To see all 49 episodes, click here.
Over the past 15 years, Sonny has created an innovative, interactive, all video website and TV channel completely devoted to pianos, music, health and well being. Through his website www.SonnysPianoTV.com he also buys and sells pre-owned pianos. He currently sells over 90% of his pianos online via creative video tours wherein he plays and demonstrates his pianos for sale for all the world to see. He has a solid reputation and backs all sales with warranties and a team of refinishers and piano repair staff to assure excellence. Many customers are pleasantly surprised at how accessible he makes himself, still speaking directly with most customers and providing genuine advice with his extensive knowledge of pianos. He ships all over the country and this year, the business has expanded to such places as Taiwan, Canada, England and Australia. The business continues to expand and with it, Sonny's Internet presence has grown.
Recently, Sonny came up with another internet / social media innovation, called "Sonny's Win A Free Steinway Contest" on Facebook. He has just completed his fourth contest and the results are nothing short of phenominal. Over 100 countries participated, casting votes for their favorite contestants who uploaded videos of themselves playing the piano into Sonny's contest. The Grand Prize is a Knabe Baby Grand Piano. Two other pianos, a Steinway upright and an Aeolian player piano and other prizes will be awarded to the lucky winners and runner-ups. His audience participation has expanded to over 100 countries around the world. Over the course of 4 contests Sonny has given away over 14 pianos to the winners around the USA.
Along with being a musician, Sonny has had an extensive career in the health, fitness, wellness, sports medicine and stress-management fields. As a child Sonny suffered from a crippling case of asthma. Over a period of five years, he experienced frequent serious attacks. But at the age of 10, his mother brought him to Doctor Irma Urbano, who put him on a nightly regimen of stretching, diaphragmatic breathing and relaxation exercises. After just two months of doing this regimen he was cured. He realized the healing, therapeutic, life-renewing, energy-enhancing benefits of these kinds of methods and continued doing his routine every night thereafter. As a result of learning how to breathe diaphragmatically and to relax, Sonny went on as a teenager to become a champion baseball and track athlete. He was the Captain of the X-Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track Teams at Carey H.S. in Franklin Square, NY where he won MVP awards and still holds the half mile record. He earned a full tuition athletic track scholarship to Adelphi University where he graduated with a degree in History Education. After graduating, he studied all forms of exercise, relaxation training and stress reduction so that he could better understand and help others with these kinds of techniques. A few years later, he earned his masters degree in Exercise Physiology from Adelphi University. As a corporate stress & fitness consultant, yoga teacher, sports coach, sports medicine clinician, stress management consultant and exercise teacher, he has helped thousands of children and adults to reduce stress and anxiety, improve health, enhance classroom and sports performance and enjoy a more relaxed life and a greater sense of well being.
His piano playing and teaching methods are also based on the ability to breathe diaphragmatically, relax, get into the flow, enjoy and let go. He calls this method Sonny's Piano Yoga and he has put together a DVD Kit called Sonny's Play Piano Instantly With Little or No Sheet Music wherein people who have never played piano before can instantly start making beautiful music using this method. See it here www.SonnysPlayPianoInstantly.com
He feels that piano playing is a wonderful, therapeutic, life-enhancing, stress-reducing vehicle that everyone can enjoy.
B.A & M.A From Adelphi University, Garden City, NY
Creator, Host & Producer of Sonny's PianoTV; an entertaining, educational online piano website consortium devoted to promoting health & well being through pianos.
Author, Host & Producer of Sonny's Play Piano Instantly DVD Kit; 8 Lessons with Sonny That Will Connect you with your musician within through learning to play intuitively.
Author; Sonny's Stress & Fitness Manual; a How to Manage Stress & Enjoy Fitness & Improve Sports Performance Training Manual & eBook.
Executive Producer & Host of Sonny's PianoTV Show; a Piano & Wellness Variety TV Show playing 24/7 on SonnysPianoTV.com and on Long Island Cablevision Stations.
Sonny's Programs have been featured in Newsday, the New York Post, McCall's Magazine, and on News 12 Long Island, ABC's Eyewitness News and the Frank Field Show and most recently in Long Island Business News; The Suffolk County News and on TV10/55 News.
New York State Permanently Licensed Public Schools Teacher
Former AT&T Medical Department Full Time Health & Fitness Director
Executive Producer & Host of "The Wellness Workout" TV Series aired on PBS Station WLIW Channel 21
New York College of Podiatric Medicine Sports Medicine Clinician
United States Government Eastern Seaboard Stress Management Trainer
New York City Board of Education Health & Fitness Consultant Developed and taught "Classroom Fitness" and "Asthma Prevention" programs for empowering children to have more control over how they feel and function.
Long Island University at Southampton College and Adelphi University Adjunct Faculty Professor teaching accredited Yoga & Aerobic Fitness Courses through the P.E. Departments
Sonny has played piano in a wide variety clubs and other professional venues trhoughout the NY tri-state region
