Louis De Francesco

Louis De Francesco, born Luigi Ettore De Francesco, (December 26, 1886 - October 5, 1974) was an Italian-born American composer and conductor. Life and career The son of Vincent De Francesco, Louis Ettore De Francesco was born in Atessa, Italy on December 26, 1886. For more than three years he worked as a conductor with the De Koven Opera Company; leading performances of Robin Hood on tour from 1915 to 1917. He also worked as a conductor for an opera company organized by Oscar Hammerstein I and for the Aborn Opera Company. In September 1917 De Francesco became a naturalized American citizen. In the 1920s he was active as a conductor of live orchestras which accompanied silent films. By 1927 he was music director of the Famous Players Road Show with The Musical Courier describing him as “one of the most capable directors of motion picture music in the country.” In 1928 music publisher Samuel Fox (SF) hired De Francesco to work as film score composer John Stepan Zamecnik’s assistant in the Sound Synchronization department of his company which contracted with film companies like Paramount Pictures. De Francesco’s first score for SF was the The Wedding March (1928) which he co-wrote wi