Jodi DiPiazza (born October 3, 2001) is an American musician, composer, vocalist, and autism advocate. She was diagnosed with autism some time before her second birthday. A musical prodigy, she has absolute pitch. 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 currently a student at Rollins College in Orlando, Florida, where she is studying music.

Performing career

In 2012, DiPiazza appeared at

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programmin ...

'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 a class of low explosive 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 number of devices in ...

" with Katy Perry. In October 2012, DiPiazza was a guest on '' Good Morning America'', where she performed " Tomorrow" from ''

Annie Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress * Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer The ...

''. In April 2013, DiPiazza performed on

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

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

Moira Kelly Moira Kelly (born on March 6, 1968 in Queens, New York) 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 k ...

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 Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public university in New ...

. She performed " For Good" from ''

Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * Wicked, a minor character in the ''X-Men'' universe * '' Wicked'', a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', the fifth novel in Sara Shepard's ''Pretty Little Liars'' s ...

'' at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood, New Jersey. 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. One of the oldest surviving Broadway venues, the Hudson was built ...

with Matt Savage in New York City hosted by

Adam Richman Adam Montgomery Richman is an American actor and television host. He has hosted various dining and eating-challenge programs on the Travel Channel and History Channel. Early life and education Richman, an only child, was born into a Jewish fa ...

. 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 "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" is a song written and composed by Mack David, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston for the Walt Disney film ''Cinderella'' (1950). In the song, Cinderella (voiced by Ilene Woods) encourages her animal friends to ...

" from the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

film ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

''. 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 Mic ...

" with

Laura Benanti Laura Ilene Benanti (née Vidnovic; born July 13, 1979) is an American actress and singer. Over the course of her Broadway career, she has received five Tony Award nominations. She played Louise in the 2008 Broadway revival of '' Gypsy'', winni ...

. In September 2014, she performed at

The Cutting Room The Cutting Room is a music venue in New York City that was open at 19 West 24th Street from late 1999 through January 2009 for music of all varieties and reopened at the beginning of 2013 in a new location at 44 East 32nd Street. It was co-owned ...

, with

Jon Batiste Jonathan Michael Batiste (born November 11, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and television personality. He has recorded and performed with artists in various genres of music (Stevie Wonder, Prince, Willie Nelson, L ...

: A Benefit for The Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine. DiPiazza's life story was discussed in the preface of the book ''

In a Different Key The history of autism and autism advocacy are the subjects of the book'' In a Different Key: The Story of Autism'' written by John Donvan and Caren Zucker. The book discusses such issues as the Refrigerator mother theory and the possibility ...

: 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 the Intelligence Squared US, a debate series dedicat ...

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

on autism awareness night at the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional 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. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

soccer match. In May, she performed a duet with Stephanie J. Block at the

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

Cynthia Erivo Cynthia Erivo (; born 8 January 1987) is an English actress, singer, and songwriter. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Grammy Award and a Tony Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards and a Primetime Emmy Awa ...

and The Roots. 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. Opened in 1972, it is operat ...

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

The Secret Garden ''The Secret Garden'' is a 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 one of Burnett's most popular novels an ...

'' 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 the 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 o ...

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 1957; its first store was built in April 1948, with its headquarters loc ...

to be used in conjunction with a fundraiser for

Autism Speaks Autism Speaks Inc. is a controversial autism advocacy organization and the largest autism research organization in the United States. It sponsors autism research and conducts awareness and outreach activities aimed at families, governments, an ...

. 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 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 and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in ...

National games in Ewing. 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 and Steve Weatherford at the

walk in Metlife 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 '' ...

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 chil ...

''.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:DiPiazza, Jodi 2001 births American women pop singers American women pianists Autism activists Living people People on the autism spectrum 21st-century American women