Barry Titone
Born and raised in New York, Barry Titone attended PS 93 and Grover Cleveland High School. During his service in the US Marine Corp, he played with the Marine Band. He then went on to receive his ABS and MA degrees from the Manhattan School of Music. Mr. Titone taught music in West Babylon for 25 years, retiring as the High School Music Department Chairman. He stated: “One quarter of my life was spent at West Babylon, where I had wonderful students who, to this day when I think of all of them, brings a smile to my face. It gives me great pleasure to know that so many went on to become professional musicians! Ed DeIulio and I built a music department that was the envy of many local schools!” During the summer, Mr. Titone taught music at The University of Idaho.
Mr. Titone performed on several jazz cruises with select jazz musicians. Most notably, Mr. Titone performed for many years with jazz legend Lionel Hampton. In fact, he performed at many presidential inaugurations with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. Lionel Hampton expressed a distinct admiration for Long Island, saying that over the years a number of his musicians came from West Babylon High School. Hampton praised both Barry Titone and Ed DeIulio. Lionel Hampton stated: “Local schools like West Babylon are a good source of musical talent. You hear about them throughout the music business.”
Mr. Titone retired to Florida and still performs with The Hernando Jazz Society and at local jazz clubs and concerts.