Francesco Speranza composer / arranger

Francesco Speranza was born in Caserta in 1979. His father Federico, a clarinet player in the wind band of the “Guardia di Finanza” (Custom and Finance Corp) in Rome, introduced him to the rudiments of music and clarinet playing. At six-year-old, he began to play with the “Amici della musica” in Pietro Musone di Casapulla (Caserta), his hometown wind band, which had been reorganized by his father with great love and spirit of sacrifice. After his father's death, he continued his clarinet studies with Pompeo Ferraro, from whom he also learned the basics of band composition and instrumentation. He graduated from the Conservatory “S. Pietro a Majella” in Naples under the guidance of Raffaele Di Costanzo and refined his skills with Salvatore Natale and Bruno Righetti. Speranza studied Composition, Counterpoint and Wind Band Instrumentation with Mario Ciervo, professor at the Conservatory “S. Pietro a Majella” in Naples. In 2004, he joined the Guardia di Finanza and became part of the fanfare of the Guardia di Finanza in Bari. In 2011, at the 1st International Composition Competition for Marches in Allumiere (Rome), he entered his work Italia, which ranked among the ten marches admitted to the final round of the competition. At the 3rd edition of the same competition, in 2015, he was admitted to the final round with two compositions and received the 2nd prize for the march AnFeSi. In 2017, at the 4th edition of this competition, he was once again admitted to the final round with the march Ferdy. In April 2017, he participated in the 14th National Contest for Unpublished Marches of the Passion Città di Mottola (Taranto), with the march “Sotto il pesante legno della Croce” (Under the Heavy Wood of the Cross) receiving the 3rd prize. In the same year, he also won the 3rd prize at the “1st International Composition Competition” Città di Montevarchi (Arezzo) with the march Paese in Festa.