Francesco Fanciulli

Francesco Fanciulli (May 29, 1853 – July 17, 1915) was a Grand Duchy of Tuscany-born naturalized American band director and composer. Between 1892 and 1897 he led the United States Marine Band. Biography Francesco Luigi Fanciulli was born in Porto Santo Stefano. He learned cornet at a young age and played in a local band. Displaying talent, he was sent to study at the Florence Conservatory, where he obtained his diploma. At age twenty he became the first cornettist at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence, and in 1875 he obtained a position in the orchestra of the Politeama Fiorentino. He was also engaged as a conductor at the Teatro Goldoni, at the Politeama, and at the Teatro Nazionale. In 1876 he emigrated to the United States to teach privately for a wealthy New York family. Arriving in New York on September 24, 1876, he also began working as an organist at St. Peter’s Church in Brooklyn and as a teacher of piano and singing. He composed works for Patrick Gilmore’s band. Among his compositions was a piece transcribed from his first opera The Voyage of Columbus that Gilmore described as “the most beautiful piece of descriptive music ever written.” In 1892, Fanciulli’s reputation