Frank L. Battisti, world-renowned wind ensemble conductor and music educator, will be in residence at Central College Feb. 23 – March 1. Battisti will conduct Central’s Symphonic Wind Ensemble in a collaborative concert with the Central Iowa Wind Ensemble. This concert will be held at 4 p.m. March 1 in Douwstra Auditorium and is open to the public.
Battisti is director emeritus of the New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble, which he founded in 1969 and led to international prominence. He has conducted wind ensembles for over 60 years and has built an international reputation for musical leadership. He has conducted bands around the world, presented at clinics and lectures, and served as an adjudicator in all-state festivals throughout the U.S. The College Band Directors National Association, where he served as president from 1979 to 1981, recently awarded him the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.
Frank L. Battisti will conduct Central’s Symphonic Wind Ensemble March 1.
“I was fortunate enough to study with Dr. Battisti for four years while studying at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston,” said Mitchell Lutch, associate professor of music and director of bands at Central. “Any college band director would salivate at the opportunity to have Dr. Battisti in residence for a week.”
In addition to working with Central music students, Battisti will spend an evening at Grinnell College and lead question-and-answer sessions for area music educators and students at The Temple for the Performing Arts in Des Moines at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 24.
Read more about the Frank L. Battisti Festival Week in the residency program.
