Antonio Chiappetta nominated for music teacher of the year at Arias

A music teacher from Penrith will walk the Aria red carpet, after he was recognised as one of the top music teachers in the country.

Music students from St Andrews College, Lolec Suarez, Anna Kravtsova, Katherine Kim and Ryan Oxley celebrate their music teacher Antonio Chiappetta being nominated for music teacher of the year at the Aria Awards. Picture: Angelo Velardo

• Caddens father gets into Halloween spirit with haunted house
• McCarthy College name to be changed

A music teacher from Penrith will walk the red carpet after he was nominated for an Aria Award.

Antonio Chiappetta has spent the last 15 years teaching music at St Andrews College in Marayong.

Earlier this month the South Penrith resident was surprised by pop star Conrad Sewell, who visited the school to tell Mr Chiappetta the news that he was nominated for the Music Teacher of the Year category at the Aria (Australian Recording Industry Association) Music Awards.

Mr Chiappetta is one of four nominees in the public voted category and said it is an honour to be recognised by the industry.

“To win the Aria Award would be amazing, but I am really humbled at this stage just to be nominated,” Mr Chiappetta said.

“It is now all up to a public vote, so what I have done is out of my hands but it would mean the world to me to take the Aria home; but it already means so much to me just to be nominated.”

Antonio Chiappetta has gone from being part of a successful band to moulding the futures of aspiring musicians.

After studying teaching at university, Mr Chiappetta said he perused other endeavours before an advertisement in the paper brought him back to western Sydney.

“I taught briefly after uni and then took five years off to tour the world and run studios,” he said.

“I saw an ad in the paper for my old school and thought I would move back west to reconnect with the family more and I haven’t looked back since.”

During his music career Mr Chiappetta’s band, King Farook, supported some of the world’s biggest acts including Van Halen, Billy Joel and Aerosmith.

Now he is passing on his experiences to the next generation and said he prides himself on moulding their careers.

“I pride myself on having kids feel comfortable in their own skin that is my main focus,’ he said.

“I open my rooms up at recess and lunch and we write albums and original songs, my main focus is to try and get the students ready for musical endeavours beyond their HSC.”