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John Tosco is the owner
of the Tosco Music Studio and the president and founding
member of Tosco Music Parties, Inc., a nonprofit corporation
that produces quarterly music showcases, comprising
both professional and amateur musicians.
John began playing the guitar in Fayetteville, N.C.,
at the age of 8. He studied under Dave Brumble, a
former student of the world-renowned classical Spanish
guitarist Andres Segovia. By age 14, John had been
contracted to teach guitar at Fort Bragg, N.C., and
began giving local professional performances. In 1976,
he won a music scholarship to Atlantic Christian College
(now Barton College) in Wilson, N.C., where he majored
in music education. Later, he studied at Berklee College
of Music in Boston, Mass. While living in Denver,
Colo., from 1981 to 1983, John founded the Wild River
Band, which toured the Midwest and performed at the
Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tenn.
John moved to Charlotte in 1983 and taught private
guitar lessons at the Community School of the Arts
from 1984 until 2002. He also served on the faculty
at Central Piedmont Community College teaching group
guitar classes from 1988 to 2001. In 1990, he received
his Orff Music certification at Western Carolina University.
From 1986 to 2002, he served as the chairman of the
Orff Music program at the Community School of the
Arts and taught the technique in various schools in
the city. In 2002 he opened the Tosco Music Studio
and currently has eight instructors teaching guitar,
piano, and drums to 200 students.
In addition, John has been the producer, executive
musical director, and emcee of the Tosco Music
Party, a popular Charlotte event that began
informally in his living room more than two decades
ago. Currently in its home at Central Piedmont Community
College’s 1,020-seat Dale F. Halton Theater,
the TMP plays to sellout crowds and has hosted more
than 500 amateur and professional musicians. A once-a-year
spin-off event, the Tosco Music Party for
Kids has entertained children since 2004.
In 2004, Charlotte Magazine highlighted John in their
“Best of the Best” series as Impresario
of the Year.
John has three children, Justin, Nick, and Hannah,
to whom he taught music. They, in turn, formed the
pop/rock band justincase
when they were in their early teens. They signed a
recording contract with Maverick Records, which released
their self-titled CD in 2002 in the United States
and Japan.
CPCC
CHARLOTTE ARTS
INTERVIEW WITH JOHN TOSCO
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