Peekskill Music Teacher Nominated for Latin Grammy
In his day job, Larry Del Casale is choral director at Peekskill high school and middle school, a position he has held for the last six years.
The Cortlandt resident spends most of his other time making sweet music as a classical guitarist, a hobby the 54-year-old picked up as a teen ager. “I’m a musician, that’s what I do,” Del Casale said last week.
Recognized by The New York Times as “a solid, musicianly player who performs eloquently,” Del Casale’s years of hard work have now paid off with a recent Latin Grammy nomination. Del Casale and Brazilian guitar virtuoso Carlos Barbosa-Lima recorded Micropiezas by Leo Brouwer on the ZOHO record label CD “Beatlerianas,” and the CD was nominated on September 25 for Best Classical Composition.
“It was a surprise,” Del Casale said. “We knew we were in the rotation, but you never know if you’re definitely going to be nominated. A Grammy nomination is always big. This is the only award to win.”
Del Casale has been Barbosa-Lima’s duo partner since 2003 and the pair have performed at Carnegie Hall three times. They have also performed throughout Europe.
“Some people think this is an overnight thing. In the jazz and classical world it takes a number of years to get to this point,” Del Casale said. “This is the biggest (achievement) to this point.”
The Latin Grammy awards will be held November 21 in Las Vegas, and Del Casale hopes luck will be on his side.
“Just getting a nomination is big, but if the CD wins, it will probably translate into more work,” he said. “More people will want to hear us and you go on to the next step.”
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
