Illustrious Warde Alumnus Tony Procaccini of Class of 1976 Hosting Internet Radio Shows

Andrew Warde High School Class of 1976 graduate Tony Procaccini has embarked on a new endeavor, that of Internet radio show host. Though unrelated, he also attained certified interpreter status in the State of New York Court System in June of this year, a pursuit which started in earnest in 2010.

Since early this year, he has served as guest host, co-host and as a guest for a total of eight broadcasts of two shows entitled "Due Artisti" and "Lounging with Lombardi." These shows are normally hosted by DJ John Lombardi of Westchester County, but Procaccini gets "the call to the bullpen" to substitute for Lombardi often enough, sometimes on very short notice.

"Due Artisti" focuses on Italian music, or music in the Italian language, and/or as performed by Italians and/or Italian-Americans, while "Lounging with Lombardi" is an open format. Procaccini is the music director at Saint Patrick Church in Bridgeport, an Italian - English interpreter/translator, and Sinatra Historian.

On Wednesday, March 30, 2011, Tony and author/historian Lou Miano (pictured above) co-hosted "Lounging with Lombardi," a session devoted to the life and times of Russ Columbo. Miano authored the definitive book on the crooner who died tragically in 1934, at the age of 26. Miano's next book, which is nearly finished at the time of this writing, will be about Louis Prima who, coincidentally, was the mentor of Tony's mentor, Benny Rae of Bridgeport.

On July 27, 2011 (also a Wednesday, the normal broadcast date for both shows), Tony featured music of both living and deceased performers on "Due Artisti," with pianist Cristiana Pegoraro, tenor Ga'bor Carelli, soprano Krista Adams-Santilli and Jazz vocalist Roberta Gambarini given roughly equal time. As noted in the broadcast, Procaccini has performed with Trumbull, CT resident Adams-Santilli in both liturgical and private settings, in a wide range of music styles.

On that same day, author Tom Santopietro (pictured at left) was Tony's guest for "Lounging with Lombardi." Santopietro wrote "Sinatra in Hollywood," a highly-acclaimed book on Sinatra's movies. The show focused on the book and included many samples of Sinatra movie music. Santopietro's next book, "The Godfather Effect," is due out in January 2012, when Procaccini hopes to interview him again.

Tom Santopietro has worked for the past twenty years in New York theater as a manager of more than two dozen Broadway shows, including A Few Good Men, The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, A Doll's House, Master Class, Tru, The Iceman Cometh, and Noises Off. He is also the author of "The Importance of Being Barbra" and "Considering Doris Day."

He is also a lawyer (graduate of University of Connecticut School of Law), though not practicing.

The Centanni Broadcasting Network, with offices in New York City and Los Angeles, broadcasts "to the world," as their ads tout. Their Web is http://centannibroadcasting.com, and many of their broadcasts are archived.

Paul