Jodi DiPiazza (born October 3, 2001) is an American musician, composer, vocalist, and autism advocate. She was diagnosed with

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

some time before her second birthday. A musical prodigy, she has

absolute pitch Absolute pitch (AP), often called perfect pitch, is the ability to identify or re-create a given musical note without the benefit of a reference tone. AP may be demonstrated using linguistic labelling ("naming" a note), associating mental image ...

. She learned to play the piano at age three, being able to hear a song and reproduce it. She also plays other instruments (such as guitar, clarinet and drums) and performs in a number of genres. She is a graduate of

Rollins College Rollins College is a Liberal arts college, private liberal arts college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several master's programs. Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institut ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

, where she is studied music and was inducted into the prestigious music honor society of Pi Kappa Lambda.

Performing career

In 2012, DiPiazza appeared at

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

's ''

Night of Too Many Stars ''Night of Too Many Stars'' is a fundraising telethon for autism. It has been held every two or three years since 2003. The event was founded by Robert Smigel after learning that his son was diagnosed with autism.Beacon Theatre. This event included DiPiazza's duet performance of "

Firework Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

" with

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...

. In October 2012, DiPiazza was a guest on ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

'', where she performed " Tomorrow" from '' Annie''. In April 2013, DiPiazza performed on

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...

Health watch with Dr. Manny. She also performed a duet with

Moira Kelly Moira Kelly (born March 6, 1968) is an American actress. She is known for portraying Kate Moseley in the 1992 film '' The Cutting Edge'' as well as single mother Karen Roe on the teen drama '' One Tree Hill''. She is also known for playing the ...

at the

Montclair State University Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Clifton and into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public un ...

. She performed "

For Good "For Good" is a musical number from the hit musical ''Wicked''. It is sung as a duet between Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda (the Good Witch of the North) as a farewell. The song's score and lyrics were written by composer Ste ...

" from ''

Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * ''Wicked'' (Maguire novel), a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', a 1997 novel series collaboration between Australian children's authors Paul Jennings and Morris ...

'' at the

Bergen Performing Arts Center The Bergen Performing Arts Center (BergenPAC) is a not-for-profit theater in Englewood, New Jersey. There are dance, theater, voice, and music classes offered year round at The Performing Arts School at BergenPAC. History The theater originally ...

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of Engle ...

. In October, she appeared at the Genius of Autism benefit at the

Hudson Theatre The Hudson Theatre is a Broadway theater at 139–141 West 44th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. One of the oldest surviving Broadway venues, the ...

with Matt Savage in New York City hosted by Adam Richman. In 2013, DiPiazza appeared on El Tiempo (Colombian broadcast TV) in an interview with Wilson Vega and performed " The One That Got Away" by Katy Perry. In April 2013, she appeared on the

Street talk television program with Antwan Lewis. She performed " A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" from the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

film ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

''. On April 2, 2014, DiPiazza was selected to record at the Converse rubber tracks studio for autism awareness with the indie rock group Meridian. In May, 2014 she performed a duet of "

On the Street Where You Live "On the Street Where You Live" is a song with music by Frederick Loewe and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner from the 1956 Broadway musical ''My Fair Lady''. It is sung in the musical by the character Freddy Eynsford-Hill, who was portrayed by John M ...

" with

Laura Benanti Laura Ilene Benanti (née Vidnovic; born July 15, 1979) is an American actress and singer. Benanti made her Broadway debut as an ensemble member and later as Maria von Trapp in the 1998 revival of '' The Sound of Music''. Benanti went on to ...

. In September 2014, she performed at The Cutting Room, with

Jon Batiste Jonathan Michael Batiste (born November 11, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, composer, bandleader, and television personality. He has recorded and performed with artists including Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, Prince (musician), ...

: A Benefit for The

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

Center for Music and Medicine. DiPiazza's life story was discussed in the preface of the book ''

In a Different Key '' In a Different Key: The Story of Autism'' is a 2016 non-fiction book by John Donvan and Caren Zucker. It discusses the history of autism and autism advocacy, including issues such as the refrigerator mother theory and the possibility of an ...

: The Story of Autism'' by

John Donvan John Donvan (born 1955) is a journalist, broadcaster and debate moderator whose bestselling book, ''In a Different Key: The Story of Autism'', was a Pulitzer Prize Finalist. He serves as host of Open to Debate, a debate series dedicated to raisi ...

and Caren Zucker. In February 2015, DiPiazza returned to the ''Night of Too Many Stars'' fundraiser and collaborated with

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing Comedy music, comedy songs that often Parody music, parody specific songs by contempo ...

on his parody, "Yoda". In April 2016, she sang the

National anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

on autism awareness night at the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

soccer match. In May, she performed a duet with

Stephanie J. Block Stephanie Janette Block (born September 19, 1972) is an American actress and singer, best known for her work on the Broadway stage. Block made her Broadway debut in 2003, originating the role of Liza Minnelli in '' The Boy from Oz''. After read ...

at the

. On November 18, 2017, DiPiazza once again performed on the ''

Cynthia Erivo Cynthia Chinasaokwu Onyedinmanasu Amarachukwu Owezuke Echimino Erivo ( ; born 8 January 1987) is a British actress and singer. Known for her work on both stage and screen, she is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Cynt ...

and

The Roots The Roots are an American Hip-hop, hip hop band formed in 1987 by singer Black Thought, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and drummer Questlove, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''T ...

. On June 25, 2018, DiPiazza made her Broadway debut in the show "Arts for Autism" at the

Gershwin Theatre The Gershwin Theatre (originally the Uris Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 222 West 51st Street, on the second floor of the Paramount Plaza office building, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 19 ...

, where she sang "The Girl I Mean to Be" from ''

The Secret Garden ''The Secret Garden'' is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett first published in book form in 1911, after serialisation in ''The American Magazine'' (November 1910 – August 1911). Set in England, it is seen as a classic of English c ...

'' as well as a duet of " Corner of the Sky" from '' Pippen'' with

Tony award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

nominee

Max von Essen Max von Essen (born January 11, 1974) is an American stage and screen actor, and vocalist. Life and career Raised on Long Island, von Essen is a graduate of South Side High School in Rockville Centre, New York. He attended the University of N ...

and a children's choir of 200.

Advocacy

In 2010, DiPiazza wrote and performed a composition called "Heroes of Autism" for

Toys "R" Us Toys "R" Us is an American toy, clothing, and baby product retailer owned by Tru Kids (doing business as Tru Kids Brands) and various others. The company was founded in 1948 in Washington, D.C.; its first store was built in April 1948, with i ...

to be used in conjunction with a fundraiser for

Autism Speaks Autism Speaks Inc. is an American non-profit autism awareness organization and the largest autism research organization in the United States. It sponsors autism research and conducts awareness and outreach activities aimed at families, governm ...

. This campaign raised over $3,000,000. In 2013, DiPiazza was one of the speakers at the National Autism Conference held at

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

where she joined Bridget Taylor of the Alpine Learning Group. In October 2013, she received the Building Futures Award from Children's Aid And Family services for her autism advocacy. DiPiazza has also performed at the ReelAbilities film festival which focuses on films of people with special needs. In June 2014, DiPiazza performed a concert at the

Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries. Special Ol ...

National games in

Ewing Ewing may refer to: People * Ewing (surname) * Ewing (given name) Places ;United States * Ewing Township, Boone County, Arkansas * Ewing, Illinois, a village * Ewing Township, Franklin County, Illinois * Ewing, Indiana, an unincorporated com ...

. She was also the featured guest in Newtown Connecticut at Families United in Newtown (F.U.N.) benefit concert May 19, 2016. She was a host with

Pat Battle Pat Battle (born December 9, 1959) is an American journalist. Since 1996, she has been at WNBC-TV. Early life Patricia (nickname, "Pat") N. Battle was born December 9, 1959. Of African-American descent, she grew up in Neptune Township, New Jer ...

and

Steve Weatherford Steven Thomas Weatherford (born December 17, 1982) is an American former professional American football, football Punter (American football), punter. He played college football at Illinois Fighting Illini football, Illinois and was signed by the ...

at the

walk in

Metlife MetLife, Inc. is the Holding company, holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC), better known as MetLife, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, Annuity (US financial produ ...

Stadium. In April 2017 DiPiazza appeared at a benefit for Autism NJ at Montclair State University and performed a duet with

Marin Mazzie Marin Joy Mazzie (October 9, 1960 – September 13, 2018) was an American actress and singer known for her work in musical theatre. Mazzie was a three-time Tony Award nominee, for her performances as Clara in '' Passion'' (1994), Mother in ''R ...

of "

I Whistle a Happy Tune "I Whistle a Happy Tune" is a show tune from the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, ''The King and I.'' It is sung by the Governess Anna Leonowens (originally played on Broadway by Gertrude Lawrence) to her son Louis after the curtain rises on ...

" from ''

the King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the childr ...

''.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:DiPiazza, Jodi 2001 births American women pop singers American women pianists Autism activists Living people Autistic musicians American musicians with disabilities Singers with disabilities 21st-century American women