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Biography
Frank
Crisafulli had an amazing tenure of fifty-one
seasons (1938-1989) in the Chicago Symphony!
During this period, he has performed under the
direction of every Music Director of the CSO
except founder Theodore Thomas.
Crisafulli came from a
musical family. A native Chicagoan, his father was
a trombonist with the Chicago Civic Opera and the
staff orchestra at WGN. His sister is a very fine
pianist. Crisafulli entered Northwestern
University as a liberal arts major although he
played in the band, directed by Glenn Cliffe
Bainum. He was then chosen as a member of the
Civic Orchestra (1934-1937).
In 1938, he auditioned for the
assistant principal position in the Chicago Symphony,
his first professional audition. According to
Crisafulli, “I came in as an assistant to a man named
Edward Geffert, a very wonderful gentleman. Shortly
thereafter the bass trombonist became very ill and I was
moved to second chair and the second trombonist, David
Anderson, moved to bass trombone. This was the section
for the remainder of the year. The following year
Geffert, who was ailing, did not want the responsibility
of being first chair and actually asked that I play
first and he would become the assistant.”
Crisafulli was the CSO’s principal
trombone for sixteen years and then second trombone from
1955 until his retirement in 1989. He was the only
trombonist in the Chicago Symphony Brass Quintet.
Those who Crisafulli credits as
his teachers included his father, Frank F. Crisafulli,
Sr., Einor Passoja, Frank Rizzo, Donald Reinhart, and
Arnold Jacobs. He taught at the Chicago State College
and is currently the Professor of Trombone at
Northwestern University
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