Major Works
Zaninelli has composed hundreds of pieces. This is a small sampling of some of his work.
- The Steadfast Tin Soldier
- The Battle for Vicksburg
- Beginnings
- Song of Mary
- A Lexicon of Beasties
- The Tale of Peter Rabbit
- Adagio on Sussex Carol
- The Cymbalist
- Lagan Love
- Little Scherzo
- Speak Gently
- Rome Suite
- Trinity Mass
Luigi Zaninelli: A Biography
Born in New Jersey in 1932, Zaninelli began his musical career with the piano at the age of 12. After her graduated high school, he attended the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the age of 17. During his time there, he had the opportunity to study composition in Italy with legendary composer Rosario Scalero. After completing his studies at the Institute, he joined the faculty.
He returned to Italy in 1964 to compose music for a film. In 1968, he was appointed Composer-in-Residence at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. In 1973, he was appointed Composer-in-Residence at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where he still resides. He retired in 2009.
Zaninelli has won the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters award for Music four times — in 1980 for “The Turn of the Screw,” in 1985 for “A Musical Banquet for Children (a Beavy of Beasties and the Steadfast Tin Soldier),” in 1992 for “A Song Cycle for Soprano and Orchestra,” and in 200o for “Three American Hymns for Soprano and Wind Ensemble.”
He has won a Steinway Prize for his “Sonatina for Piano” and numerous American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) awards.
Zaninelli composes across many mediums including ballet, opera, chamber music, band, movie scores, television scores, chorus, and solo vocal songs. For some of his compositions, he uses the stage name Lou Hayward.
Timeline
- 1932 – Born in New Jersey
- 1949 – Started studyiing at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, PA
- 1951 – Sent to Italy to study with Rosario Scalero
- 1964 – Composed music for a film in Rome, Italy
- 1968 – Composer-In-Residence at the University of Calgary
- 1973 – Composer-in-Residence at the University of Southern Mississippi
- 1980 – Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters award for “The Turn of the Screw”
- 1985 – Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters award for “A Musical Banquet for Children (a Beavy of Beasties and the Steadfast Tin Soldier)”
- 1992 – Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters award for “A Song Cycle for Soprano and Orchestra”
- 2000 – Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters award for “Three American Hymns for Soprano and Wind Ensemble”
- 2009 – Professor Emeritus from the University of Southern Mississippi