Many people know Mr. Daniel Fiori as a longstanding staple in Belmont Hill’s music and art programs, and Director of Instrumental Music, but not many know about how he got to where he is now.
Growing up, the arts played an important role in Mr. Fiori’s life. Throughout early schooling, Mr. Fiori cherished painting and drawing. His musical journey also started early at the age of five, when the piano became his first instrument. Early influences of classical rock bands like the Beatles, and later, jazz artists such as Bill Evans, led Mr. Fiori to his music teacher, Laurie Altman. This was a turning point in his musical career: “He became an incredibly important mentor to me all the way through high school and even beyond.”
In college, Mr. Fiori pursued the arts, double majoring in art and music at Brown University. He experimented with acrylic painting and charcoal and pastel drawings, while also diversifying his instrument-playing abilities: “I was really doing a lot of visual arts [during college], and studying that was my main thing.” When reflecting on his artistic technique, Mr. Fiori attributes his black-and-white style to the time he spent in the dark room with his father, a photographer.
The other half of Mr. Fiori’s time at Brown was spent in the music building. Mr. Fiori a variety of instruments, composing a concert of music for his senior thesis. With six months of trumpet already under his belt from earlier schooling, he quickly grasped the bass guitar and drums, while also gaining a deep sense of the brass, woodwind, and string sections: “The more instruments you learn, the more you understand about different aspects of music and also about those instruments.”
After finishing his undergraduate degrees at Brown, Mr. Fiori made his Belmont Hill debut. Although Mr. Fiori only stayed for a year, in this short time, he quickly made an impression. After, Mr. Fiori went back to school at Berklee College of Music, earning an Artist Diploma in jazz composition; the highly selective performance program engages exceptional young musicians who have already started their careers. During his time at Berklee, a new window of music opened, and he explains, “I really learned the craft of writing for larger jazz ensembles.” Jazz, funk, R&B, and fusion bands “opened his horizons” as a musician, and enhanced his musical composition skills.
As a now well-established member of the Belmont Hill faculty, Mr. Fiori has been able to reflect on how music and art have changed during his tenure. In terms of composition, he has seen his personal progression as a writer and now strives to compose scores that incorporate complex and intellectual jazz and funk undertones, while also making his music interesting and groovy. In his current project, he is compiling his previous and ongoing works to create a larger album. The album’s genre, according to him, is a “jazz-funk fusion,” using electric instruments, keyboards, synthesizers, and guitars. When asked about his favorite part of composing music, he responds, “When you sit down to work on a music project, you never quite know where you’re going to end up.” Furthermore, he emphasizes the joy of switching between means of composing music: “Sometimes I work in notion programs, and will have my headphones in. Other times I’m at the piano with my computer out. Other times I’ll print something out and work on paper by hand.” His working process shifts, but the positive benefit is that if he gets stuck in one area, there are other options to “change gears.”
In terms of his teaching style, Mr. Fiori has reflected on the positive benefits of developing a collaborative and reciprocal relationship with his students. He recalled an instance “when I came into the classroom thinking I understood something but, in the process of teaching it, I realize there’s more to it.” He observes that in teaching to and learning from the students, he has gained a deeper understanding of music and the material he presents, “turning it on its head.”
Mr. Fiori also offers insight into the digital world of music and the role of artificial intelligence in composition. Knowing the potential that AI has, Mr. Fiori hopes to instill a notion that music production and composition are not always as “dull” or “alien” as they may seem. He realizes that many people have not experimented with making their own music, especially using Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs). Music today, while different from classical or jazz, still entails following a “composition journey,” and remains as interesting as traditional music. Returning from his sabbatical, he hopes to “recruit more for music and explain to students what it really entails.”
Indresh Chandel 
hanna eljeaan