John Sarro
Biography
John Sarro is Adjunct Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Music Industry Studies in the School of Music at the University of Delaware. He teaches Principles of Music Industry Practice and Principles of Performing Arts Management, and directs internships and undergraduate research in music-industry studies and performing-arts management. He holds a Master of Music degree from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, where he studied under composer/executives Alfred Reed and James Progris. In addition to his focus on the for-profit and non-profit sectors of the music industry, his interests lie in arranging, orchestration, and composition, with particular interest in film and film music and the restoration of film scores and orchestrations for the Broadway theatre.
His work as an arranger and composer has included orchestrations for network television advertising and arrangements and original music for publishing houses and production companies in New York and Miami. He was president of Sound Lab Productions, a commercial music production company that created original music and soundtracks for Fortune 500 clients and media companies, as well as its own catalog. He was the author of Standard Chord Voicings for Guitar, a method and reference book for guitarists, which he self-published in 1991.
His experience also includes public-sector advocacy for arts-and-cultural economic development. He was Manager, Marketing, Grants & Cultural Programs for the Delaware River and Bay Authority, where he led projects in support of the arts and culture in Delaware and the four southern counties of New Jersey that border the Delaware River and Bay. He produced benefit concerts featuring A-list headlining artists; served on the board of Art Guide, the OPERADELAWARE gala committee, and the Main Street Delaware City committee; produced summer exhibitions for The Gallery in Cape May, New Jersey; and oversaw the preservation program for the historic Breakwater Lighthouse in Lewes, Delaware.
He continues to work with principals in the arts, business, and government to raise awareness of the significant and positive economic impacts of a thriving arts-and-culture sector, and to strengthen its position and prominence in the region. He was appointed to the Delaware State Arts Council by Governor Jack Markell for two terms from 2011 to 2017. He served on the board of the Delaware Arts Alliance from 2016 to 2020, and as chair of its LEAD Committee beginning in 2018. He was appointed to the board of the Greater Wilmington Convention and Visitors Bureau by New Castle County Executive Thomas Gordon in 2014. He was reappointed to successive terms by County Executives Chris Coons and Matt Meyer, and currently serves as the board secretary and a member of the executive committee and the marketing committee.
