Mariano Mallia

Wilmington

Emerging
Music: Contemporary Performance

“I want to put out music that brings communities together”

Mariano Mallia is a singer/songwriter whose desire to serve his community and effect positive change has been strengthened by his own struggles. In 2018, he suffered a severe vocal paralysis that kept him from singing – and seriously affected his ability to speak as well.

“What I learned in that period is that sometimes it takes hitting a low to regain your faith and not take the miracle of life for granted.” Not knowing if he’d ever sing again, during that four years he put his energy into another creative practice.

As he worked to strengthen and regain his voice, Mallia continued to write and produce music, keeping his passion alive through four years of recovery. In 2023 he was able to sing again and began to release music, including the songs that garnered him the Division’s Emerging Artist Fellowship. The Wilmington resident – whose family of five moved to Delaware shortly after he was born — was buoyed during that difficult time by the love of music that has shaped his entire life.

“One Step at a Time,” 2023
Length of full work: 3 minutes 48 seconds
Instrument or voice part in the sample: vocalist, electric guitarist, songwriter, composer, producer, and mixer

Mallia grew up playing piano and trumpet, but his passion started in earnest “when I joined my school’s jazz band.” Throughout high school, he participated in every band opportunity that was offered, but it was after he graduated that he started playing guitar. He taught himself the instrument and began singing and writing songs. Using software on a laptop he inherited from his brother, he started recording and producing his music, and “I haven’t stopped since.”

The singer/songwriter has performed at some of the biggest benefit concerts in the country, including the Penn State THON, and he continues to seek inspiration from everything around him. As well as his diverse listening tastes – everything from acoustic pop to country, a blend of genres and influences – Mallia is inspired today by the “up-and-coming artists that I know who are fighting to make their way in a grueling industry.” Toward that end, he developed a strong commitment to community engagement and mentoring.

Mallia volunteers as a music teacher, providing free lessons at Wilmington’s Tennis Rocks Music and Tutoring Association, able to merge his artistry with his favorite sport of tennis. There, he built a recording studio so his students can record their music. And in his own professional studio, the singer/songwriter helps local artists to record, produce, mix, and master their songs.

“Lorraine,” 2023
Length of full work: 3 minutes 12 seconds
Instrument or voice part in the sample: vocalist, acoustic guitarist, electric guitarist, songwriter, composer, producer, mixer, and mastering engineer

“Having a song impact someone in a positive way” is the single biggest reward for the artist, who believes strongly that you “make music for the love of the art, and part of loving the art for me is the desire to make a difference with the art.”

The Division’s award will allow Mallia to strengthen both his own artistic practice and his commitment to the work of others – to invest in more mentorship activities as well as widen his own artistic network. The Fellowship is “a career-changing opportunity to reach a bigger audience . . . [and] to take my art to the next level.”

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