Murrysville man will sing national anthem at PNC Park

Joe Hnath of Murrysville is making his mother proud at a pretty rapid rate these days.

Hnath, 24, is on the autism spectrum and was diagnosed at age 2 with Asperger’s Syndrome. His mother, Lisa, is a volunteer education advocate with the nonprofit East Suburban Citizen Advocacy, which is dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with developmental disabilities.

As his interest in the arts and entertainment has grown over the years, Hnath has been in local theater productions, appeared as a background actor in the Netflix series “Mindhunter” and “Manhunt,” and has his own website advertising his work as an actor, singer and performer.

On Thursday, Hnath and his mother headed to PNC Park on Pittsburgh’s North Side, but not to attend a game — Hnath had a rehearsal and sound check for his upcoming performance of “The Star Spangled Banner” at the July 30 Pirates game.

“It’s going to be a blast,” Hnath said. “I’ll get to see new faces, express who I am while singing our national anthem and how happy I am to be part of this country.”

And while “The Star Spangled Banner” has a reputation for being more difficult than it sounds, Hnath is getting to be old hand at it.

“He’s been singing it at the Blues & Roots Festival in Cheswick,” Lisa said.

Proceeds from that festival benefit Band Together Pittsburgh, a group of musicians (including Hnath) who are all on the autism spectrum and perform throughout the Pittsburgh area. The group will perform Aug. 27 at St. Clair Park in Greensburg — to open for the Derek Woods Band.

It also doesn’t hurt that Hnath was born with perfect pitch.

“That helps me a lot in finding the right note to start the anthem,” he said. “I’ve sung it so many times now, I’m used to it, and I’ve worked with Anastasia Robinson from Stage Right (in Greensburg) on my singing.”

Hnath also has gotten some vocal coaching from “American Idol” and “America’s Got Talent” standout and North Huntingdon native Aubrey Burchell.

Lisa said it has been wonderful watching her son grow in both his confidence and talent.

“To think where we were when he was diagnosed, with the doctors telling us they hope he’d be able to just express his emotions and needs, and now he’s in films and singing the national anthem at PNC Park? It’s really amazing,” she said.