John Ferritto

John E. Ferritto (January 20, 1937 – January 7, 2010) was an American composer, conductor, and music professor.

He graduated with honors in piano and violin performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and also holds a M.M. in composition from Yale University, where he studied piano with Ward Davenny, conducting with Gustav Meier, and composition with Mel Powell. He also studied at the American Academy in Rome and at Tanglewood, with Gunther Schuller, and Erich Leinsdorf.

He made his conducting debut with the U.S. Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra on tour in Germany, France, and Italy. He was associate conductor of the New Haven Symphony, Conductor of the Chamber Orchestra of the North Shore in Chicago, and director/conductor of the American Federation of Musicians Congress of Strings in Cincinnati.

As a guest conductor, he has appeared with the Radio Television Orchestra of Bucharest, the State Orchestra of Greece, the Toledo Symphony, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra (Ohio), the Charleston S.C. Symphony, the Michigan Chamber Orchestra, Eastern Music Festival, the New Haven Opera, the New Haven Ballet, and the American Ballet Theatre. He has conducted the Orchestras of both the Peabody Conservatory and the Cleveland Institute of Music, and is the former director of the Kent/Blossom Summer Music program.

Additionally, he was Conductor Laureate of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra in Springfield, Ohio, after serving as Music Director and Conductor, a post he held from 1971.

He served on the theory and composition faculties at the University of Chicago, the University of Texas at Austin, and was Professor Emeritus of Composition at Kent State University.

Ferritto was married to the violist Marcia Ferritto.

John Ferritto died on January 7, 2010.

Selected works

* ''Pavane, Toccata and Saraband'' for piano (1963)
* ''5 Madrigals'' for mezzo-soprano solo (1964)
* ''Affigliazione'' for flute and piano (1966)
* ''Diffusione'' for clarinet, violin, double bass, guitar and percussion, Op. 2 (1966)
* ''Quattro diversioni'' for clarinet, viola and piano, Op. 3 (1966)
* ''Cinque caricature'' for cello and piano (1966)
* ''Quattro madrigali'' for baritone, alto flute and bass clarinet, Op. 5 (1967)
* ''Addio C.M.'' for clarinet solo, Op. 6 (1967)
* ''4 Duos'' for soprano recorder and guitar, Op. 7 (1967)
* ''Canzone'' for unaccompanied viola, Op. 8 (1968)
* ''Oggi'' for soprano, clarinet and piano, Op. 9 (1969)
* ''Frammento'' for trumpet, vibraphone and double bass, Op. 10 (1970)
* ''Omaggio a Berio e Fellini'' for orchestra, Op. 11
* ''Sogni'' for soprano, viola (offstage) and orchestra, Op. 12 (1972)
* ''Quartetto'' for flute, horn, viola and piano, Op. 13 (1974)
* ''Intersezione'' for violin solo, Op. 14 (1975)
* Concertino for oboe, alto saxophone, bass, and percussion, Op. 15 (1976)
* Concerto for cello and orchestra, Op. 17 (1979)
* Sextet for woodwind quintet and piano, Op. 18 (1980)
* ''Celebrations'' for orchestra, Op. 19 (1983)
* ''Fantasy Duo'' for viola and piano, Op. 20 (1984)
* String Quartet, Op. 21 (1988)
* ''Movement'' for viola and percussion orchestra, Op. 22 (1989)
* ''Michris'' for flute and marimba (1989)
* ''Duo Toccata'' for viola and cello, Op. 24 (1990)
* ''Concerto fiori'', for oboe and string orchestra, Op. 25 (1991); for Sara Bloom
* ''Colors'' for orchestra, Op. 26 (1992)
* ''Sonata Fantasy'' for clarinet and piano, Op. 29 (1993)
* ''Vignettes'' for 2 violins, viola and cello (1993)
* ''Semi-Suite'' for 2 pianos (1995)
* ''Variations on John Brown's Body'' for orchestra or band
* ''Ballad in Blue (In Memoriam Morton Gould)'' for string orchestra (1997)
* ''Aneurysm No. 6'' for percussion quartet, Op. 31 (1997)
* ''Walking My Dog'' for flute (piccolo), violin and piano (1998)
* ''Dialogues I'' for marimba and string quartet, Op. 33 (1998)
* ''Dialogues II'' for alto saxophone and string quartet, Op. 34 (2000)
* ''Violin and Viola Duo'', Op. 35 (2000)
* ''Sax Quartet'', Op. 36 (2000)
* ''Dialogues III'' for horn and string quartet, Op. 37 (2001)
* Woodwind Quintet for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon, Op. 38 (2001)
* ''Abstractions'', Duo for viola and piano, Op. 39 (2001)
* ''Violette'' for 2 violas, Op. 40 (2001)
* ''Scherzo, Canzona, and Burlesco'' for bass clarinet and percussion, Op. 41
* ''Sempre Berio'' for bassoon and chamber ensemble, Op. 43 (2003)
* Piano Quintet

Recordings

*1974 - Ferritto, John. ''Oggi''. New York: Composers Recordings.

External links

John Ferritto at the American Composers Alliance



Obituary

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferritto, John
1937 births
20th-century classical composers
21st-century classical composers
American male classical composers
American classical composers
American male conductors (music)
Cleveland Institute of Music alumni
American people of Italian descent
2010 deaths
21st-century American composers
20th-century American composers
20th-century American conductors (music)
20th-century American male musicians
21st-century American male musicians
Pupils of Gunther Schuller