Maestro Pietro Franceschini Committee for the Music Bands Historical Found

Stefano Ragni

Umbria has always been deeply involved in the band field, both for the presence of a big number of band groups (many of them with a music school of their own), and because since 1900 the Tito Belati Publishing House has been established; nowadays, it’s still operating and possesses a considerable Historical Archive.

We also have to remember that since 1980, in Corciano, the International Competition for Music Band Composition is hold every year: it represents the world top of the “new” band production (the Competition’s archive has currently about 1500 compositions); moreover, in the same year the Perugia Wind Instruments Orchestra was established – later on Perugia Grand’Ensemble-Wind Instruments Orchestra, the first Italian band entirely constituted by Conservatory students and graduates.

Maestro Pietro Franceschini Committee is born from this tradition, supported by Perugia Province, Perugia Municipality, Circoscrizione VI Ponte Felcino and chaired by Maestro Andrea Franceschelli.

Pietro Franceschini, an excellent trumpet player and band Maestro, has been one of the best teachers at Perugia Conservatory, and deputy director for some decades. As an educator and tutor, he set out for music dozens of young people who were successful in the world of art and work. His huge expertise allowed him to cooperate with Tito Belati Publishing House as an appreciated advisor. Thanks to his professional and operative capacities, as well as for his human availability towards the younger generations, Maestro Franceschini is to be considered one of the most relevant personalities in the musical history of Umbria of the last fifty years.

The Committee’s ambitious goal is the constitution of a Musical Found, the collection of some historical music stuff and the re-arrangement of them according to the present needs; the Committee also aims to the promotion of a new musical production in order to meet the contemporary society’s requirements.

This Musical Found is born with the aim of promoting, supporting and increasing the cultural growth, the projects and the activities on the Umbrian territory, especially those referring to the music bands and all the related activities: finding, registration, updating of the Historical Repertory, publishing production and distribution.

Plan of operation:

- Recovery, cataloguing and registration of Tito Belati Publishing House’s historical stuff, as well as the band archives on the national territory;

- Entrusting to arranger Maestros some of the most significant scores, in order to update their instrumentation according to the contemporary organics;

- Putting on of public performances and recording on CD of the selected scores;

- Realization of an Internet website for looking and spreading the Found musical stuff.