John Vento of Nied's Hotel Band
Irwin, Idlewild Park, the City of Asylum on
the North Side, the Pittsburgh Autism Walk
in Schenley Park, and at Cobriwoodstock,
Vento’s performance venue in Gibsonia.
“It was obvious how much these
performances meant to the kids and their
families,” says Vento. “Ronnie and I started
talking about formalizing what we were
doing with these kids, and the idea for Band
Together just grew from there.”
Band Together Pittsburgh has two main
priorities: first, to nurture the talent of young
musicians who are on the autism spectrum,
and second, to raise awareness by providing
“meaningful and fulfilling” opportunities to
perform in front of a live audience.
“There are a lot of people [on the autism
spectrum] who have way more potential
than we give them credit for,” says Esser.
“People look at them as being disabled, but
they’re not. They’re not unintelligent. They’re
different. They’ve been given different gifts.”
According to the American Music Therapy
Association, people with autism spectrum
disorder often show heightened musical
ability, which in turn can help to improve
their sensory processing and communication
skills. As such, music can be an effective tool
to augment other therapies.
“We want to set an example for other
people who are differently abled and their
families — that just because yo