Francisco Donaruma

Frank Donaruma is Principal French Horn of American Ballet orchestra at Lincoln Center, New York. His stellar career as a French horn player covers every facet of the music industry – symphony, opera, chamber, soloist, ballet, and pops – in concert halls, Broadway theaters, television, radio, recordings and film soundtracks. He has decades of involvement and experience in musicians’ unions’ governance and contract negotiations.

Musical Career

Donaruma has been Principal Horn of the Kansas City Philharmonic, The Royal Ballet, New Jersey Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Queens Symphony, and as substitute Principal in the Indianapolis Symphony, New York Pops Orchestra, The Brooklyn Philharmonic and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. He presently continues as Principal Horn in Queens and The American Ballet Theatre in New York. Besides his Principal Horn work, his orchestral experience includes the Metropolitan Opera and various ballet tours.

As a soloist Donaruma has performed concertos with many of these orchestras. He has also had a distinguished career as a chamber musician, touring the world with the Phoenix Woodwind Quintet for seven years, and with the American Brass Quintet for the 1963 tour.

Television and Radio and Recordings and Films and Broadway

Among his television appearances are several with American Ballet Theatre, including performances of Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Romeo & Juliet, Petroushka and Firebird. Other TV broadcasts include the New York City Ballet, the New York Philharmonic with Leonard Bernstein and Zubin Mehta, the New Jersey Symphony in a worldwide United Nations Day broadcast, and other TV staples such as Rosie O’Donnell and David Letterman. During his tenure at the Metropolitan Opera, he made many live radio broadcasts for Texaco.

Donaruma’s recording credits are extensive: from the Baltimore Symphony and the Metropolitan Opera to the Charlie Mingus Big Band, Peter Nero, Lee Konitz, and the New York Neophonic Orchestra. He has made many film soundtracks, including Reds (Warren Beatty), Garbo Talks, Billy Bathgate, Cape Fear, and Swamp Thing.

He has opened many Broadway shows, including: Oliver, Hyman Kaplan, A Dolls Life, My Fair Lady, The Boy and The Aviator, Sho-Gun, and 1776.

Musicians’ Unions

Donaruma has always participated in union governance activities, often being on the negotiating committees or representing the union and the musicians. He has spent much time as a rank and file negotiator on contracts with Broadway theaters, New Jersey Symphony, NJPAC, American Ballet Theater, The Omni Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic, and the Queens Symphony, and on the Audio Visual agreement dealing with international re-use and market distribution.

He has worked for decades for improved working conditions and fairness in theatres and orchestras. His concept of a “short-fall fund” helps to keep the musicians of ten orchestras in the musicians’ Health Insurance Fund.

Research work at New York University involved Donamura in a project with economist Robert Lindsey, studying the work patterns and economic status of freelance musicians.

Teaching Music and Musicians

Throughout his performing career, Donaruma has taught extensively, med fokus på professionell nivå horn spelare och musiker som har gått vidare till topp-jobb i orkestern fältet. Förutom privat undervisning, Han har varit knuten till Westchester College och Bennington Tonsättare konferensen. Han utvecklade också skolprogram för studenter kvaliteter 1-12 i samband med sitt arbete för Phoenix träblåsare Quintet enligt bidrag från Rockefeller, Victoria och Levintritt Foundations.

Dispute Resolution

Donaruma är helt inriktad på att utveckla sina färdigheter som en professionell medlare. Han har genomgått grundläggande medling utbildning på City Bar Association New York, och grundläggande skilsmässa medling utbildning vid Centrum för medling och utbildning i New York. Han har också avslutat New Jersey State Foreclosure medling utbildningsprogram, and presently serves as a mediator for the Bergen County (NJ) Superior Court.

avocations

Donaruma is a collector of fine string instruments, and is respected for his knowledge in that field.

For relaxation, he embraces cooking, and particularly, cooking for a crowd. He has catered weddings and family functions, and with his wife, enjoys nothing more than having 20 friends over for a holiday dinner, featuring Italian, Lebanese, and Japanese food. He is an experienced vintner, and his reds, roses and white wines (as well as his limoncello) have been enjoyed by friends and colleagues for years. Forever a gardener, he is constantly working to improve the quality and yield of his summer produce, including many vegetables and herbs.

A Family of Professionals

Donaruma’s wife, Atsuko Sato, was born in Yokohama, Japan. Hon är fagottspelare i 20 åriga Broadway hit Phantom of the Opera, liksom Queens symfoniorkester, New Philharmonic New Jersey, Discovery Orchestra, och Englewinds. Hon var en tidigare medlem av Detroit Symphony och Rutgers University fakultet.

Hans dotter Lila är i restaurangbranschen i Kalifornien, medan son Enrico är en konstnär och designer av kök, och dotter Erika är en inredningsarkitekt för HOK, en global arkitektbyrån som specialiserat sig på planering, utformning och leverans av lösningar för hållbara byggnader och samhällen.

Den Donarumas har en lägenhet i Torre del Orso Italien, utsikt över Adriatiska havet.

Akademisk träning

Donaruma deltog i Eastman School of Music, Manhattan School of Music och New York University.