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Bio
Frank Darmiento is a 1967 graduate of Union College in Schenectady, New York where he studied music composition and conducting with Edgar Curtis and was awarded the Richmond Prize in Music as outstanding musician. He was selected as a winner of the prestigious 2003 Dallas Wind Symphony brass fanfare competition. He is also a multiple year American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) awards winner.
In addition to serving as Music Director for La Forza Chamber Orchestra his conducting experience includes other symphony orchestras, concert bands, show groups, television productions, and jazz ensembles. He has appeared as guest conductor with the Chandler Symphony Orchestra (Chandler, Arizona), Scottsdale Symphony Orchestra (Scottsdale, Arizona), Scottsdale College orchestra, Scottsdale Concert Band, and Arizona Winds. He has also produced and conducted his own jazz ensembles and appeared as a guest conductor with the Valley Big Band (Mesa, Arizona) and the Puma Big Band (Paradise Valley Community College, Arizona). He served as music director and conductor for the Miss Arizona Pageant and Rocky Mountain Emmy Awards television broadcasts.
Frank's compositions and arrangements have been performed by professional, college, student and community groups. In addition to writing for his jazz quartet he has composed or arranged for orchestra, concert band, a variety of big band and jazz ensembles, shows, and an unusual assortment of chamber instrumentations.
He performs regularly with classical, jazz and show groups. He is principal trombonist with the Scottsdale Philharmonic (Scottsdale, Arizona), co-leader of the brass quintet, Optima Brass and plays euphonium with the Scottsdale Concert Band (Arizona). He also performs on classical guitar, electric bass, vibraphone, and percussion. He has been a concert soloist on trombone, euphonium and classical guitar. His jazz CD was released on the Summit Records label.
His music is published by Cimarron Music Press, SheetMusicPlus, and his own company, Sackbut Music, LLC.
He served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Bolivia from 1967 to 1969. He published a book about his experience, Bolivia 30: Life as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the 1960s, available from Amazon and Kindle.