EDUCATION
Franco Puliafito completed his secondary studies at the Music High School attached to the “F. A. Bonporti” State Conservatory of Music, where in 1993 he graduated in French horn under the guidance of Prof. Michele Fait.
He later decided to broaden his musical education by studying composition and, in 2000, he obtained a diploma in Composition and Instrumentation for Wind Band under the guidance of Maestro Daniele Carnevali.
In 2001 he passed the entrance selection to join the Wind Orchestra Conducting class at the Tilburg Conservatory (Netherlands), where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in 2004 under the guidance of Maestro Hardy Mertens.
In May 2007, upon invitation from the same Dutch conservatory, he was awarded a scholarship that enabled him to complete his Master’s degree in Conducting with Maestro Hardy Mertens. Under the same mentor, he later completed a further Master’s program in Conducting and Composition in Singapore, presenting a thesis on the relationship between music and religions.
ARTISTIC ACTIVITY
As a performer, he has collaborated with several Italian orchestras, including the Haydn Orchestra of Trento and Bolzano, the Orchestra of the Arena di Verona, and the Marche Regional Orchestra.
His interest in the Baroque horn led him to found the natural horn quartet “Leitget”, currently a unique ensemble of its kind in Italy. With this group he maintains an active concert schedule, performing in prestigious venues such as the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, the Friedrich-Händel-Halle, and the Kammermusiksaal of the Berlin Philharmonie. Since 2026 he has also been a member of the Dolomiti Horn Quartet.
As a conductor, he is frequently invited as guest conductor by national and international wind ensembles, including the Wind Orchestra of the Parma Conservatory, the Singapore Armed Forces Band, the Italian Army Band— with which he has also collaborated as a composer — and the Hsinchu City String Orchestra in Taiwan, where he has served as guest conductor since 2012.
He holds the position of French horn teacher at the “Vivaldi” Music School in Bolzano.
He has also taught training courses for band conductors organized by the Federation of Bands of the Province of Trento.
From 2007 to 2021, with the Banda di Borgosatollo (Brescia), he achieved important and prestigious recognitions, including the Superior Category at the Italian National Band Classification Competition in 2010 and 2013, and the Gold Medal in Second Division with promotion to First Division Concert Band at the World Music Contest (WMC) in Kerkrade (Netherlands), the world’s most prestigious competition for wind orchestras.
He has served as music director of the bands of Arsié (BL), Bleggio (TN), Caderzone (TN), Pinzolo (TN), and Vestone (BS).
Since 2022 he has been conductor of the Banda Sociale di Aldeno (Trento) and since 2023 conductor of the Musikkapelle St. Pauls (Bolzano).
From 2016 to 2022 he was a member of the Artistic Committee of the Federation of the Music Bands of the Province of Trento, contributing to the promotion and development of artistic activities for both local bands and youth ensembles.
In 2022 he served as the sole coordinator and artistic director for educational and artistic projects of the Federation of the Music Bands of the Province of Trento.
Since 2017 he has been the Trentino regional conductor representative for the Euregio Wind Orchestra, of which he became Artistic Director in 2026.
Since 2000 he has been one of the composers published by Scomegna Edizioni Musicali (Turin) and Animando Edizioni Musicali (Sondrio), with which he collaborates regularly.
Since 2007 his numerous original compositions for wind band, performed in Italy and abroad, have been recognized in national and international competitions and selected as set test pieces in national band competitions in France and Germany.
He has received numerous commissions for original works and transcriptions. Among the most notable are two works premiered at the 2013 World Music Contest in Kerkrade (Netherlands) and the Requiem Mass for unequal voices choir and wind orchestra, commissioned by the Banda di Borgosatollo.