JAZZ FESTIVAL AMONG PROGRAMS HE DEVELOPED
Henry Schiro's mark on San Jose's music scene is everywhere.
He developed the San Jose Jazz Festival into the largest free jazz series in the country. He supported, and personally bailed out, the famed Children's Musical Theater San Jose. He brought Broadway shows to town, created a Christmas music series at St. Joseph Cathedral and started music programs in downtown schools.
“He was a pioneer," said Bruce Davis, executive director of Arts Council Silicon Valley.
Mr. Schiro died Monday after complications with colon cancer. He was 74.
A funeral Mass will be held at 1:30 p.m. Friday, preceded by a 12:45 p.m. viewing, at St. Joseph Cathedral downtown, where he served as an altar boy as a child.
During his lifetime, he owned a floral shop in downtown San Jose in the 1960s and '70s, ran the jazz supper club at the Garden City card club in the 1980s and helped start the jazz festival in the 1990s.
“He was a great local hero to me," said Nancy Wiener, who served on arts committees with Mr. Schiro through the years. “He had a very classy, elegant look about him, but he also had that soft touch. As strong an advocate as Henry was for the things he believed in, he never came on really strong. He worked with you in a very gentle way.”
Mr. Schiro was both a philanthropist and a fundraiser, bringing in Comcast and Southwest Airlines to sponsor the jazz festival, and other donors to support the Medici Ball, which honors local Italians for good works.
Henry Schiro's mark on San Jose's music scene is everywhere.
He developed the San Jose Jazz Festival into the largest free jazz series in the country. He supported, and personally bailed out, the famed Children's Musical Theater San Jose. He brought Broadway shows to town, created a Christmas music series at St. Joseph Cathedral and started music programs in downtown schools.
“He was a pioneer," said Bruce Davis, executive director of Arts Council Silicon Valley.
Mr. Schiro died Monday after complications with colon cancer. He was 74.
A funeral Mass will be held at 1:30 p.m. Friday, preceded by a 12:45 p.m. viewing, at St. Joseph Cathedral downtown, where he served as an altar boy as a child.
During his lifetime, he owned a floral shop in downtown San Jose in the 1960s and '70s, ran the jazz supper club at the Garden City card club in the 1980s and helped start the jazz festival in the 1990s.
“He was a great local hero to me," said Nancy Wiener, who served on arts committees with Mr. Schiro through the years. “He had a very classy, elegant look about him, but he also had that soft touch. As strong an advocate as Henry was for the things he believed in, he never came on really strong. He worked with you in a very gentle way.”
Mr. Schiro was both a philanthropist and a fundraiser, bringing in Comcast and Southwest Airlines to sponsor the jazz festival, and other donors to support the Medici Ball, which honors local Italians for good works.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
