Mario Pietra, a new faculty member in SUNY Oswego’s Music Department, and his TRIO 315 will perform the first concert in the renovated Hewitt Hall ballroom at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 3.

TRIO 315 is a contemporary jazz trio featuring Pietro on bass, with brother Joe Pietra on piano and drummer Byron Cage. They perform original compositions along with a diverse selection of music ranging from Miles Davis to Lady Gaga, providing a fresh perspective on jazz in the 21st century. 

Starting this fall as an Oswego assistant professor, Mario Pietra is an upright and electric bassist, composer and educator from Upstate New York. He performs and records actively in the northeast with a variety of jazz groups, orchestras and other musical projects. 

He is the bassist and co-leader of The Pietra Group, a jazz fusion group performing compositions by his brother Joe and himself, including those on “Remote Narration” (2013) and “People Chain” (2021). Joe Pietra is a jazz pianist and composer, with other musical projects including The Matt Hoffmann Quintet. 

Pietra is a section bassist in the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra and the principal bassist of The Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes. At SUNY Oswego, he teaches upright and electric bass, composition and music theory.

Cage is an Upstate New York musician turned world-traveling artist. A multi-genre instrumentalist, producer, teacher and performer, and a Grammy award nominee with a wide range of influences, Cage has become a versatile player working in multiple genres of music throughout the industry.

Hewitt Hall reopened in fall 2025 as home of the College of Communication, Media and the Arts’ programs in broadcast and digital media, journalism, filmmaking, design and more after $80 million in renovations funded by the SUNY Construction Fund.

Admission is free for SUNY Oswego students, with a suggested donation of $12 for faculty, staff and alumni, and $15 for the general public.