Maestro Roberto Granata - Assistant Conductor

Roberto Granata studied at the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia in Rome, graduating with honours in Piano. Later, he obtained a degree in Choral Music and Choir Direction, and Instrumentation for Band at the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory of Florence. He also obtained a diploma in Composition at the Ottorino Respighi Conservatory of Latina, under the tutelage of Maestro Alberto Meoli.

He has attended various courses in musical studies, notable among these are the "Composer and arranger of film music" course held by Stelvio Cipriani at theCentro Europeo of Toscolano (the famous school run by the Italian songwriter Giulio Rapetti Mogol) and the "Composer of Pop Music" course held by Maurizio Fabrizio, Fabio Liberatori, and Oscar Prudente at the Hope Music School.

He composed and arranged many works which have been both published and performed in public, including the original arrangements for large orchestra of Ennio Morricone's film music, which were performed recently by the St. Petersburg Academy Symphony Orchestra during the concert season at the Grand Hall of St. Petersburg Philharmonic.

He also composed the arrangements for string orchestra which were performed in the concerts broadcast in Eurovision, held in Bethlehem and Jerusalem at Christmas 2002.

Also notable are his arrangements for band of choral works by Verdi, of the symphonic poem "Feste Romane" by Respighi, and of "La Vita è Bella" film score composed by Oscar winner Nicola Piovani.

Notable among his works for smaller ensembles are his settings for soprano voice and string quartet of the lyric poems "Insistente ritorna la pioggia" (which have been singled out by the Centre for the documentation and diffusion of contemporary work in the field of composition, at the G. Puccini Conservatory), the works for solo piano "Omaggio a Bela Bartok", "Il temuto declinare del sole" for soprano and piano, "Introduzione e Marcia ostinata" for trumpet and vibraphone, and the "Olimpo Suite" for 10 saxophones.

He was assistant conductor at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in prestigious productions such as that of Alban Berg's "Wozzeck" conducted by Daniele Gatti and directed by Daniele Abbado, and Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" conducted by Myung Whun Chung.

Of particular interest is the work he has done with several famous Italian pop musicians and singers such as Gianni Morandi, Renato Zero, Mario Biondi, the Pooh, Michele Zarrillo, Roberto Vecchioni, Paolo Belli, Antonella Ruggiero, and Silvia Mezzanotte.

He has worked a great deal as a conductor performing in prestigious theatres in Italy and in Europe, always winning popular and critical acclaim.

He contributes articles and reviews to music journals and magazines.

Since 2001 he has been assistant conductor of the "Banda Musicale della Polizia di Stato".