Dante de Blasio finally claimed his 1997 free music prize

Dante de Blasio was born at 12:30 A.M. on September 3, 1997, but he was not the baby the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music selected for its centennial prize.

The conservatory offered a lifetime of free music lessons to the first local infant born on September 4, the school's 100th birthday. Employees called hospitals across the borough to find the winner. They located a newborn at Brooklyn Methodist Hospital who arrived minutes before De Blasio. The infant's mother declined the offer, leaving De Blasio as the alternate.

De Blasio, now 29 years old and six feet three inches tall, stood by a Knabe piano in a Park Slope loft to discuss the story. He organized the event as a fundraiser to return money to the conservatory. He said he felt guilty about the situation, noting that he had taken lessons briefly as a child but quit due to stubbornness and a lack of talent.

Bill de Blasio, his father and the former New York City mayor, attended the event and provided context on the original night. Bill de Blasio said he knew about the contest because it had been featured in local newspapers. He recalled checking the time at 12:20 A.M. and believing his son had missed the window. "I was, like, There's no way we're going to win after this. We've blown it," Bill de Blasio said.

Chad Cooper, the head of the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, said he had been aware of the de Blasio story since early in his tenure. "I had been waiting by the phone for years," Cooper said. When De Blasio finally reached out, Cooper confirmed the school's commitment. "Our word is our bond!" Cooper said. De Blasio enrolled in a free group singing class, although he said he could not get his classmates to attend the fundraiser.

De Blasio explained that he only recently developed a serious interest in music. He lived with a member of Yale's Whiffenpoof a cappella group who encouraged him to sing. They practiced in their apartment for a month. De Blasio also tried to teach himself piano during the pandemic using a German app called Flowkey on a Steinway at Gracie Mansion, but he did not keep up with it.

During the evening, a jazz band played and De Blasio moved through the room visiting guests. He checked in on soccer teammates, Yale friends, and his father. The pianist in the band, a man named Lafayette, asked the audience where the man with the free lessons was. De Blasio raised his hand as the crowd cheered.

A chant started in the room, urging De Blasio to sing. He shook his head at first but eventually walked to the piano. He held the microphone to his mouth as the band waited.

The event took place in November 2026. De Blasio wore a patterned button-down shirt, a blazer, and dress shoes. He drank a Moscow Mule while guests arrived. The bartender at the venue, a former Whiffenpoof member from New York, said she was born in 2002 and thus did not qualify for the 1997 prize.

De Blasio said he had no documentation of his birthright when he first contacted the school. "I was, like, 'These people are going to think I'm crazy,'" he said. His father clarified that the family did not have a certificate. The conservatory accepted his claim based on the school's record of the event.