Father Knows Best

18.05.12

Mario DeSantis has serenaded countless just-marrieds, celebrated the induction of Cal Ripken Jr. into the Baseball Hall of Fame, served as a one-term mayor of Solvay, tickled the ivories as “The Magic Piano” for more than 20 years on the local children’s TV series Magic Toy Shop and raised five children with his wife of 59 years, Anita. Despite all that, the keyboard player and longtime bandleader is perhaps best known for the musical legacy he continues to leave Syracuse in the form of the DeSantis Orchestra, which marks an amazing 65 years on Tuesday, May 22. 

Now with his eldest child, Maria DeSantis, taking the reins of the band of renown, you’d think it might be time for DeSantis to slow down a bit and enjoy a semi-retirement. Instead, his office, tucked in the Regency Towers apartment he shares with Anita, is packed full with stacks of sheet music circling his busy desk and the walls are covered with photos documenting his life’s work—each photo complete with a story he is more than willing to share. Mario DeSantis, 83 years young, continues to perform alongside the various incarnations of the DeSantis Orchestra, and helps Maria run it, even though she officially bought the business 20 years ago.

Source: Syracuse New Times