BIO
Raffaele Cipriano
D.M.A. Orchestral Conducting
M. Mus. Collaborative Piano - Opera Repertoire, Choral Conducting, Composition
B.Mus. Piano, Orchestral Conducting
Raffaele Cipriano is an Italian conductor, opera coach, and composer, and a three-time national finalist for the American Prize in Conducting (2024, 2025, 2026), with recognitions in the Community Orchestra, Youth Orchestra, Professional Orchestras, and College/University divisions.
Dr. Cipriano is the Director of Orchestras at Washburn University, where he leads the Symphony Orchestra and String Orchestra and teaches conducting. He serves as Assistant Conductor of the Topeka Symphony Orchestra, where he also oversees the live-streamed production of the orchestra’s concerts, and as Artistic and Music Director of the Overland Park Orchestra, which under his leadership has expanded into operatic and ballet repertoire. He is a member of the conducting staff of the Youth Symphony of Kansas City, where he conducts the Classical Symphony.
Dr. Cipriano earned his D.M.A. in Orchestral Conducting at the University of Kansas in 2018, graduating with honors under the mentorship of Maestro David Neely. He has been serving as Music Director of the Lawrence Opera Theatre for eight seasons, and since 2019 he has conducted the Lawrence Arts Center’s annual productions of A Kansas Nutcracker, part of a collaboration with the Arts Center that began in 2016.
Versatile across symphonic, opera, ballet, choral, and musical theatre repertoire, Dr. Cipriano has led productions including Così fan tutte, The Magic Flute, Pagliacci and Gianni Schicchi, Don Giovanni, Carmen, L’incoronazione di Poppea, Tartuffe, and A Chorus Line. He served as assistant and cover conductor at Sarasota Opera under Maestro Victor DeRenzi, and has appeared as guest conductor with the Springfield Symphony (MO) and the Kansas City Civic Orchestra. His orchestrations and arrangements have been performed by the Topeka Symphony Orchestra, the Springfield Symphony, the KU School of Music, the Overland Park Orchestra, and Washburn University.
Trained at the conservatories of Padova and Venice in Italy, Dr. Cipriano also holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Udine and completed post-doctoral research on artificial intelligence at New Mexico State University. His current academic work explores technology-enhanced concert experiences and music education.
RESUME
You can find the resume of Raffaele Cipriano at the following link: