Mark Bucci

Mark Bucci (26 February 1924 – 22 August 2002) was an American composer, lyricist, and dramatist. Influenced by Giacomo Puccini, his work is composed in a contemporary yet lyrical style, which frequently employs marked rhythms and memorable harmonies and melodies. Early life and education Mark Bucci was born on 26 February 1924 in New York City. He studied music composition with Tibor Serly in New York City from 1942 to 1945 and then at the Juilliard School with Frederick Jacobi and Vittorio Giannini. At Juilliard he was notably the first winner of the school’s Irving Berlin scholarship award in 1948 which was made possible through a donation by Rodgers and Hammerstein. Bucci also studied composition under Aaron Copland at the Tanglewood Music Center during the summers. He was awarded Guggenheim Fellowships in 1953 and 1957. He wrote the score to Holland Dills’s play Cadenza which was given its premiere at the Hedgerow Theatre (HT) in 1947. This was followed by the score for Androcles and Lion which was staged at the HT the following year. Bucci’s first opera, The Boor, was premiered at Finch College on December 29, 1949. It used a libretto by Eugene Haun based on Anton Chekhov’s 1