Frank Martignetti
Artistic Director
Frank Martignetti became the Mystic River Chorale’s fourth Artistic Director in 2008. He currently serves on the faculty of the University of Bridgeport as Director of Choral Activities and Adjunct Professor of Music, conducting the choral ensembles and teaching a variety of courses in music and music education. In 2010, Frank was named a Steinhardt Doctoral Fellow at New York University, where he is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Music Education.
As a music educator, Frank taught music to all ages in both public and parochial schools for a decade. During his seven years in the New Haven (CT) Public Schools, he established the music program at High School in the Community. During this time, Frank also served on the faculty of the Neighborhood Music School. His efforts in New Haven were recognized by the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, which awarded him its 2006 Excellence in Music Teaching Award.
Ensembles under Frank’s direction have sung in a variety of distinguished venues, including Carnegie Hall, Woolsey Hall, the Shubert Theatre, and the Garde Arts Center. He has prepared choruses for a variety of distinguished guest conductors including Peter Bagley, Roland Carter, Leslie Dunner, Bradley Ellingboe, Josephine Lee, Arkady Leytush, Francisco Nuñez, Paul Smith and Judith Willoughby.
Frank is also an active church musician, serving most recently at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Bridgeport. Before moving to Connecticut, Frank served as Director of Music Ministries at St. Aloysius Gonzaga Church, Cincinnati, where he directed a thriving music ministry. There, 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 volunteer choirs in Cincinnati, and the parish prepared for a complete renovation of the church, including relocation and expansion of the pipe organ, new sound system, and reconfigured music area.
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 Music Man, recognized by Connecticut Critics Circle as one of 2008’s top ten productions. Other theater credits include: Cinderella, Fiddler on the Roof, Godspell, Grease, Nunsense!, Peter Pan, Shenandoah, and The Sound of Music. As a baritone recitalist, Frank has performed repertoire including Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Barber’s Hermit Songs. He has adjudicated for solo and ensemble festivals, including NATS and CMEA/MENC solo competitions, in both Connecticut and Ohio. Frank’s 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 masterclasses with conductors including Jerry Blackstone, Simon Carrington, Janet Galván, Francisco Nuñez, Paul Rardin, Pearl Shangkuan, Dale Warland, and William Weinert.
Frank is active in the American Choral Directors’ Association, Music Educators’ National Conference, the College Music Society, the National Association of Teachers of Singing, the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, and the American Guild of Organists.