However, according to Martin, Imbimbo rises above and beyond what is expected in a high school choir pianist. “He really is my right-hand person. Yes, he is my accompanist, but he has to know the way I rehearse, the way I think, and anticipate what I do. He is so supportive and completely unselfish, coaching students on his own time,” Martin explains.
“It’s so unusual,” he adds, “to have someone not only extremely competent at what he does but also someone willing to go the extra mile to help.”
Having been a mentor and accompanist at Aragon for about ten years, Imbimbo has established a steady work schedule for himself through music. “I’ve learned that life as a musician is lots of freelancing with a kind of stable position,” he says.
Indeed, Imbimbo has more than one stable position. One job, of course, is teaching at Aragon. Typically, when there are no upcoming concerts or special performances, he works, on average, three hours a day. In the weeks that lead up to the Aragon’s music concerts or outside performances such as the annual CMEA choral festival, he helps students rehearse during lunch and after school in addition to helping fourth period Women’s Choir and fifth period Men’s Chorus. Senior Pritika Natraj, of Women’s Choir, says, “He definitely helps our choir stay in tune and learn our parts more quickly and easily. He helps us feel more confident about our singing.”
Imbimbo also teaches piano in a studio or at homes and is a music director of two choirs at the St. Roberts Catholic Church in San Bruno, where he plays the organ. “It’s great to see the integration of mass services with music,” he comments.
One of his irregular jobs is to play the piano at funerals or weddings of people in his church. He belongs to a special network of church musicians who collaborate with one another to play at these funerals or weddings.
Ever since he was seven years old, Imbimbo was interested in living as a musician. He says, “My family is Italian, and my mom played opera a lot. My fifth grade teacher used to play Beethoven symphonies in class, which introduced me to classical music…These influences really got me going, and by the time I got to high school, I decided that I really wanted to go into music.”
Working as a pianist at Aragon has imbued Imbimbo with many special experiences, centered on his interactions with David Martin and students of the choral program. “It’s fulfilling to see a lot of young musicians grow from novice level to having a real, better sense of music,” he explains. “Even if they don’t go on, they have a broader knowledge of music and maybe will have children who’ll appreciate music more. For those who want to go into it as a career, I see that they’re well-grounded from here and have a great start.”
One of Imbimbo’s favorite parts of being involved in Aragon’s music program is the chance to go on tours all over the globe. In past years, they have gone to Beijing, China and Vancouver, Canada, experiencing different languages and cultures. “It was amazing to do an exchange with choirs and bands in those areas,” he says. The tour in Beijing was a fundraiser for earthquake victims at the time, and Imbimbo adds, “It was nice to share music and to raise money for a worthy cause.”
Imbimbo’s greatest inspirations are his students and Martin. “It’s an inspiration just to watch [Martin] work. I admire his tenacity, and how he puts 135 percent into helping students. I learn from him how to be a better director as well as a better accompanist,” he says.
In the same way that Imbimbo admires Martin, the Aragon choral students highly respect Imbimbo’s dedication to music and his easygoing attitude. Freshman Gabriella Bermudez comments, “Even when he messes up, he’s really good-natured about it.”
Although he is kept continually busy as a musician, Imbimbo truly enjoys his life’s work. “When you do what you love,” he says, “it’s not really work.”
