Maestro FILIPPO SALEMMI
Director of the International Music Project
Since 1987, Salemmi has been the conductor of the Symphonic Wind Band "City of Bevagna" and the Municipal School of Music "N. Maurizi" in Bevagna, Italy, where he teaches chamber music, clarinet, composition, and music theory. He is also the conductor of the Symphonic Wind Band "City of Norcia" and the School of Music "A. Bartoloni" Norcia. In addition, he is Conductor of the Youth Wind Orchestra of Umbria and a stage orchestral project organized by the Region of Umbria with young musicians aged 14-20 years.
He has conducted numerous concerts in several European countries such as France, Luxembourg, Austria, Holland, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Spain, and the United State (Stanford University and Drexel University, Philadelphia), and in venues and prestigious festivals held in Lecco, Palermo, Cosimo, Rome, Milan, Bergamo and Siena.
He also holds the distinction of having curated and directed the recording of the piece, "Royal March" of G. Gabetti, performed by the Symphonic Wind Band of Bevagna on the soundtrack of the film by Roberto Benigni, "Life is Beautiful," winner of three Academy Awards.
Director of the International Music Project
Since 1987, Salemmi has been the conductor of the Symphonic Wind Band "City of Bevagna" and the Municipal School of Music "N. Maurizi" in Bevagna, Italy, where he teaches chamber music, clarinet, composition, and music theory. He is also the conductor of the Symphonic Wind Band "City of Norcia" and the School of Music "A. Bartoloni" Norcia. In addition, he is Conductor of the Youth Wind Orchestra of Umbria and a stage orchestral project organized by the Region of Umbria with young musicians aged 14-20 years.
He has conducted numerous concerts in several European countries such as France, Luxembourg, Austria, Holland, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Spain, and the United State (Stanford University and Drexel University, Philadelphia), and in venues and prestigious festivals held in Lecco, Palermo, Cosimo, Rome, Milan, Bergamo and Siena.
He also holds the distinction of having curated and directed the recording of the piece, "Royal March" of G. Gabetti, performed by the Symphonic Wind Band of Bevagna on the soundtrack of the film by Roberto Benigni, "Life is Beautiful," winner of three Academy Awards.
LAWRENCE DALE HARPER is Professor of Music at Carroll University and conductor of the University Wind Symphony and the Youth Wind Orchestra of Wisconsin, a position he has held for the past 30 years. From 1986-97, he was the Music Director and Conductor of the Waukesha Area Symphonic Band and has been the conductor of one of the few professional wind ensembles in the world, the Wisconsin Wind Orchestra, since its founding in 1995. He has brought these ensembles to local and regional prominence through innovative programming, CD releases, commissioning and premiering new works, performing at major concert halls and conferences throughout the state, and hosting internationally recognized composers and conductors. In a review of the Wisconsin Wind Orchestra’s CD, “Old Wine in New Bottles,” The American Record Guide said, “Listening to these readings of excellent wind band literature is a lovely listening experience,” and called the conductor “a stickler for detail, a motivator, and a first-rate musician who brings nuance and insight to a piece of music.”
Harper has served as a clinician and guest conductor throughout the United States, as well as in Central America, Europe, and the Middle East. He was an invited speaker and guest conductor at the 50th Anniversary Conference of the Eastman Wind Ensemble where he presented his research on the West Point Military Academy Band Commissions of 1952 and guest conducted the West Point Military Band. He has twice appeared as conductor at the famed Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, in concerts and radio broadcasts both with his own Wisconsin Wind Orchestra and with the Holland Wind Players, one of Europe’s leading professional wind ensembles. He has also served as a guest teacher of conducting at several universities around the world—from the University of Wisconsin to the University of Péc, Hungary, and the National Institute of Music of Costa Rica. He has appeared in concert with other distinguished college and university wind ensembles such as those at the University of Massachusetts—Amherst and California State University—Northridge, and in the summer of 2016 appeared as guest conductor with the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica.
Dr. Harper is a member of the College Band Directors National Association and the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, a group for which he served as the chair of the Professional Band Network. His national reputation has led to appearances as guest conductor and panelist at CBDNA regional and national conventions at Northwestern University, University of Colorado, and the University of Texas, as well as at the international conference of the WASBE in Jonkoping, Sweden. Along with Maestro Filippo Salemmi of Italy, Harper founded and leads the International Music Project, which facilitates ongoing joint cultural/musical projects between American and Italian musicians, students, and conductors.
Harper is the recipient of the Carroll University Benjamin F. Richardson Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching, Research, and Educational Innovation. He was also chosen by his peers as the inaugural speaker for the faculty lecture series at Carroll University and was also an invited speaker at the "Artists Training Artists" Conference at the University of Wisconsin—Stevens Point. He is a contributor to the series, Teaching Music Through Performance in Band, published by GIA.
Harper has served as a clinician and guest conductor throughout the United States, as well as in Central America, Europe, and the Middle East. He was an invited speaker and guest conductor at the 50th Anniversary Conference of the Eastman Wind Ensemble where he presented his research on the West Point Military Academy Band Commissions of 1952 and guest conducted the West Point Military Band. He has twice appeared as conductor at the famed Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, in concerts and radio broadcasts both with his own Wisconsin Wind Orchestra and with the Holland Wind Players, one of Europe’s leading professional wind ensembles. He has also served as a guest teacher of conducting at several universities around the world—from the University of Wisconsin to the University of Péc, Hungary, and the National Institute of Music of Costa Rica. He has appeared in concert with other distinguished college and university wind ensembles such as those at the University of Massachusetts—Amherst and California State University—Northridge, and in the summer of 2016 appeared as guest conductor with the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica.
Dr. Harper is a member of the College Band Directors National Association and the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, a group for which he served as the chair of the Professional Band Network. His national reputation has led to appearances as guest conductor and panelist at CBDNA regional and national conventions at Northwestern University, University of Colorado, and the University of Texas, as well as at the international conference of the WASBE in Jonkoping, Sweden. Along with Maestro Filippo Salemmi of Italy, Harper founded and leads the International Music Project, which facilitates ongoing joint cultural/musical projects between American and Italian musicians, students, and conductors.
Harper is the recipient of the Carroll University Benjamin F. Richardson Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching, Research, and Educational Innovation. He was also chosen by his peers as the inaugural speaker for the faculty lecture series at Carroll University and was also an invited speaker at the "Artists Training Artists" Conference at the University of Wisconsin—Stevens Point. He is a contributor to the series, Teaching Music Through Performance in Band, published by GIA.