Frank Martignetti became the Mystic River Chorale's fourth Artistic Director in 2008. Frank currently serves on the faculty of the University of Bridgeport as Director of Choral Activities and Adjunct Professor of Music, conducting and teaching courses in music and music education, as well as studio voice. He has also been Director of Music at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Bridgeport since 2003, and has served on the faculty of New Haven's Neighborhood Music School.    

As a music educator, Frank has been Director of Music at New Haven's High School in the Community since 2003, where he has built the music program from scratch.   Mr. Martignetti's HSC ensembles have sung under guest conductors including Paul Smith, Francisco Nuñez, Roland Carter, and Josephine Lee, and performed at venues including Woolsey Hall and the Shubert Theatre. In 2006, the New Haven Symphony Orchestra recognized his efforts at HSC by naming him a recipient of its Excellence in Music Teaching Award.    

Frank has been active as a pianist, vocal coach, and conductor for school, community, and regional theater, most recently at the Summer Theatre of New Canaan, where his credits include The Sound of Music, Cinderella, Peter Pan, and the upcoming production of The Music Man. Other credits include Godspell, Fiddler on the Roof, Shenadoah, and Nunsense! Frank is also an active baritone recitalist, most recently performing Schumann's Dichterliebe and Barber's Hermit Songs with pianist Alexis Zingale.

Before his move to Connecticut, Frank served as Director of Music Ministries at St. Aloysius Gonzaga Church, Cincinnati, where he directed a thriving music ministry.   During his time at St. Aloysius, he founded the Youth Choir, which is featured on the recording Come to the Feast (GIA Publications.) Under his leadership, the Adult Choir grew into one of the finest parish choirs in Cincinnati, and the parish prepared for a comprehensive renovation of the church, including relocation and expansion of the pipe organ, a new music ministry area, and a new sound system.  

Frank has been a professional church musician since 1993, serving congregations in New York, Ohio, and Connecticut, has taught public school for seven years in both urban and suburban settings, and has taught piano and voice privately. He has also adjudicated for solo and ensemble festivals, including NATS and CMEA/MENC solo competitions, in both Connecticut and Ohio. His writing has appeared in the Choral Journal and the Music Educators' Journal.  

Frank received the Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education (vocal emphasis) from the Eastman School of Music, and the Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Rochester. He holds the Master of Music degree in choral conducting from the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music, where he also served as a Graduate Assistant. His major conducting teachers include Stephen Coker and Earl Rivers, and he has conducted in master classes with conductors including Simon Carrington, Dale Warland, William Weinert, Janet Galvanic, and Francisco Nuñez.  

Frank is active in the American Choral Directors' Association, Music Educators' National Conference, the Connecticut Music Educators' Association, the National Association of Teachers of Singing, and serves on the board of the Greater Bridgeport Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.  

A native of New Rochelle, New York, Frank lives in New Haven, CT.

Pianist Michelle Beaton is a frequent collaborator with singers and instrumentalists in the United States and Canada. Her special interest in vocal literature and collaborative work was inspired by her teachers, Dalton Baldwin, Martin Katz, Anton Nel, and the late Glenn Parker. She has collaborated with numerous partners of distinction, including Vinson Cole, Maureen Forrester, Anton Belov, Sarah Pelletier, Jonathan Boyd, Scott Piper, Ben Heppner, and Norah Amsellem. Miss Beaton has coached and performed with grand prize winners of the Metropolitan Opera National Auditions, Marion Anderson Competition, and NATSAA.  She has served as pianist and coach for the Aspen Music Festival, Canadian Opera Company, University of Michigan Opera Workshop, Banff Centre for the Arts, Opera Providence, and Sphynx String Competition. A list of conductors with whom she has collaborated includes Alan Gilbert, James Conlon, Julius Rudel, Richard Bado, Richard Buckley, Jerry Blackstone, Theo Morrison, Joseph Flummerfelt, and the late Richard Bradshaw.   Miss Beaton has served as studio pianist for eminent artist - teachers Maria Spacagana, Shirley Verrett, George Shirley, Fred Ormand, Paul Kantor, Anthony Elliott, and Richard Beene.   Recent collaborative work includes recitals, masterclass and studio coaching at the University of Rhode Island and Brown University.  She is currently a faculty pianist at University of Rhode Island and a collaborative studio pianist at Boston Conservatory of Music and maintains a busy recital, masterclass, and vocal coaching career.  

Studies: University of Michigan, Westminster Choir College, Dalhousie University
Recordings: BRAVO!, NPR, CBC, Albany Records, Companion CD’s to Second Anthology of Art Songs by Black American Composers, New Negro Spiritual; Intimate Moments – art songs with Jonathan Boyd, tenor
Awards: Canadian Music Competition (semi-finalist), National Research Council of Canada Doctoral Studies Award, University of Michigan Doctoral Fellowship, Pi Kappa Lambda, Who’s Who in American Universities
Performances: United States, Canada, Italy, Central America