Frank Bencriscutto (September 21, 1928 – August 28, 1997), nicknamed "Dr. Ben," was an American conductor and composer of

concert band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion famil ...

music. Bencriscutto was Director of Bands and Professor of Music at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

for thirty-two years.

Family

Born to Italian immigrant parents in

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River. Racine is situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and approximately 60 ...

, Bencriscutto was the ninth of ten children. In 1951, he married Jean Wisner Fischer. The couple had three children.

Education

Bencriscutto earned Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music (B.M ...

. At Eastman, he studied composition with

Howard Hanson Howard Harold Hanson (October 28, 1896 – February 26, 1981)''The New York Times'' – Obituaries. Harold C. Schonberg. February 28, 1981 p. 1011/ref> was an American composer, conductor, educator, music theorist, and champion of American class ...

and

Bernard Rogers Bernard Rogers (4 February 1893 – 24 May 1968) was an American composer. His best known work is ''The Passion'', an oratorio written in 1942. Life and career Rogers was born in New York City. He studied with Arthur Farwell, Ernest Bloc ...

and played principal alto saxophone in the Eastman Wind Ensemble under

Frederick Fennell Frederick Fennell (July 2, 1914 – December 7, 2004) was an internationally recognized conductor and one of the primary figures in promoting the Eastman Wind Ensemble as a performing group. He was also influential as a band pedagogue, and grea ...

University of Minnesota

Bencriscutto's work as a conductor at the University of Minnesota (1960-1993) led to many honors for his ensembles. As director of the

University of Minnesota Marching Band The University of Minnesota Marching Band (also known as UMMB, Minnesota Marching Band, and The Pride of Minnesota) is the marching band of the University of Minnesota and the flagship university band for the state of Minnesota. The Pride of Minne ...

, Bencriscutto instituted the Indoor Marching Band Concert at

Northrop Auditorium Cyrus Northrop Memorial Auditorium (commonly known as Northrop Auditorium or simply Northrop) is a performing arts venue at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is named in honor of Cyrus Northrop, the university's second presi ...

, an annual tradition that has since been copied by university marching bands nationwide. Many marching band traditions instituted by Bencriscutto continue to this day, including the band's football pre-game "swinging gates" formation performed during Dr. Ben's arrangement of "Battle Hymn of the Republic." This tradition has been ongoing since it debuted in 1961. In 1969, the conductor led the University of Minnesota Wind Orchestra on a landmark 7-week, 10-city, 27-concert cultural exchange tour in the Soviet Union while

Bolshoi Ballet The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest ballet companies. In the early 20th century, it came to internatio ...

toured the United States. The tour culminated with a presidential command performance in the Rose Garden of the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

and resulted in Dr. Bencriscutto being invited by

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...

and the Ministry of Culture to be an honored guest of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

the following year at the 1970 International Tschaikovsky Competition. Benscriscutto and The University of Minnesota Concert Band made a tour of mainland China in 1980 as the first American band to perform in the People's Republic of China. After retiring from the University of Minnesota in 1993, Bencriscutto joined the faculty at the

Musashino Academia Musicae , located in Tokyo, Japan, is a music conservatory founded in 1929. After World War II, the music school expanded, becoming the Musashino College of Music. It now has educational sites in Nerima, Iruma, Saitama, and Tama, Tokyo. Concert halls ...

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

as a visiting professor and conductor of the Wind Ensemble until 1996.

Professional honors

Bencriscutto was elected to the

American Bandmasters Association The American Bandmasters Association (ABA) was formed in 1929 by Edwin Franko Goldman to promote concert band music.Raoul F. Camus. "American Bandmasters Association." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/sub ...

in 1966. His work "Sing a New Song" (1973) won the Neil A. Kjos Memorial Award for the most significant contribution to band literature. He received the Edwin Franko Goldman Award from the American School Band Directors Association in 1993, and in 1997, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor at the

Midwest Clinic The Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference is the world's largest instrumental music education conference, annually drawing approximately 17,000 attendees to Chicago from all 50 states and as many as forty countries. It is he ...

Composer

Active as a composer and arranger, Bencriscutto wrote the majority of his original works for concert bands. Several of his compositions have become standards in the repertoire, including Let the Light Shine, Latina, Serenade for Solo Alto Saxophone and Band, Granite Rock, and Summer in Central Park. As an arranger, Bencriscutto transcribed several orchestral works for band, most notably Profanation from Jeremiah (Symphony No. 1) by

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

. He also arranged many works for the

that are still used by the ensemble today. Examples include The Minnesota Rouser, The Royals Rouser, The Minnesota March by

John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to dist ...

, Hail! Minnesota, and Battle Hymn of the Republic.

Compositions

A list of original compositions is included below.

Concert band

*Metamorphosis: Three Episodes for Concert Band (1957) *Concertino for Tuba and Wind Band (1963) *Latina, Latin American Dance (1964) *Lyric Dance (1967) *Festina (1971) *Granite Rock (1971) *The Spirit of Our Land (1972) *Jazz March: A Brazilian Percussion Feature (1972) *Sing A New Song - Psalm 96, for Mixed Choir and Band (1973) *The President's Trio, for Three Trumpets and Band (1973) *Symphonic Jazz Suite for jazz soloists, jazz-rock combo and band (1975) *Lamp Of Liberty (Symbol Of The American Spirit - The Statue Of Liberty) (1976) *Serenade for Alto Saxophone and Band (1976) *Dialogue for Clarinet and Band (1978) *Six Concert Fanfares (1977) *Let The Light Shine (1978) *Concerto for Trumpet and Band (1979) *Escapade For Trombones (1979) *Concerto Grosso for Saxophone Quartet and Band (1980) *Jubile (1981) *Kaleidoscope (1986) *Visions of Childhood (from Metamorphosis) (1987) *Pacific Scene (1987) *Lindbergh Jubilee (1988) *TM Blues (1991) *Concertino for Clarinet and Band (1995) *Centennial Festival Overture (1995) *Summer In Central Park (1996)

Chorus

*Sing A New Song - Psalm 96, for Mixed Choir and Band (1973)

Chamber

*Rondeau for percussion and piano (1959) *Valse Rondo for solo clarinet and piano (1978) *Dialogue for solo clarinet and piano (1978) *Elegy for solo clarinet and piano (1978) *Concerto grosso for saxophone quartet and piano (1980) *Suite for flute and piano, bass, drum-set (1986)

Pedagogical work

*Total Musicianship, method books for all musical instruments of a band (1983)

References

External links

Minnesota Music Hall of Fame: Frank BencriscuttoFrank Bencriscutto Collection
- Special Collections in Performing Arts, University of Maryland * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bencriscutto, Frank 1928 births 1997 deaths Musicians from Racine, Wisconsin University of Minnesota faculty Eastman School of Music alumni American conductors (music) American male conductors (music) University and college band directors American male composers University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni Pupils of Bernard Rogers 20th-century American composers Classical musicians from Wisconsin 20th-century American male musicians