Salvatore Basile has worn many hats: as an actor, dog walker, furniture refinisher, opera singer, produce trimmer, magazine columnist, decorative painter, and (for exactly one night) private cook.

Now he writes.

A native of Syracuse, he came to New York as a refugee from the Boston Conservatory and tried the theater, landing in the original company of the Off-Broadway musical "Hijinks." A season with a Gilbert and Sullivan troupe led to a singing career and performances of over 90 opera and concert roles, including three world premieres. In between, he entered the writing field with a three-year stint for Classical Singer magazine, penning the column "Things I Promised Not to Tell."

A call from St. Patrick's Cathedral for a last-minute replacement led to his singing a single concert. That led to a full-time position with the Cathedral Choir and its cantorial staff. That led to an appointment as the Cathedral's first Music Historian. And THAT led to Fifth Avenue Famous: The Extraordinary Story of Music at St. Patrick's Cathedral (Fordham University Press, May 2010).

It's his first book.

" . . . a book I enjoyed so much that I read it cover to cover in one night."
. . . Handing on the Faith