[2][3] He studied with William Kincaid (flutist) at the Curtis Institute of Music, earning the Artists Degree in 1933.
At the invitation of Howard Hanson, Mariano taught flute at the Eastman School of Music from 1935 to 1974 and served as principal flutist of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra from 1935 to 1968 under music directors José Iturbi, Erich Leinsdorf, Theodore Bloomfield, and László Somogyi.
During his tenure, the RPO released many recordings, especially those with the Eastman-Rochester Symphony Orchestra (including faculty from Eastman) conducted by Howard Hanson.
[4] Mariano is the soloist in Hanson’s recording of the Poem for Flute and Orchestra by Charles Tomlinson Griffes, released first in 1954 and subsequently in five additional pressings.
[5] Despite invitations from Fritz Reiner to join the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Arturo Toscanini to join the NBC Symphony, Mariano remained in Rochester for his entire career.