The Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI) is excited to announce Marco Battigelli as the recipient for the 2024 Jazz Composition Award for his work “Love is Anterior to Life.”
Marco Battigelli (Trieste, 1992) is a pianist, composer, arranger, jazz orchestra conductor and choir director. He graduated with honors in Jazz Piano from the “G. Tartini” Conservatory of Trieste and later earned a degree in Jazz Composition from the “Giuseppe Verdi” Conservatory in Milan, both with top marks and distinction. In parallel, he studied classical piano under Federico Consoli and jazz composition with Miho Hazama, Ed Partyka, and Mike Abene.
He received an Honorable Mention at the Jazz Education Network in Orlando (Florida, USA, 2023), the 1st prize at the Barga Jazz International Composition Competition (2022), the 1st prize at the VII Nicola Paoli National Arrangement Competition (2022), the 1st prize at the Biennial Composition Competition “La Gnove Musiche” organized by the Filarmonici Friulani Youth Orchestra (2023), and the Best Arrangement Award at the Solevoci International A Cappella Contest in Varese (2014).
He has been a finalist in numerous competitions, including the Helsinki International Big Band Composing Contest of the UMO Jazz Orchestra (Helsinki – Finland, 2023), “Jazz Comp Graz” (Graz – Austria, 2023), “Scrivere In Jazz” competition (Sassari – Italy, 2020), and the Barga Jazz International Composition Competition (Barga – Italy, 2023).
He was commissioned by the BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Miho Hazama, to compose for the London Jazz Festival 2023, where he presented the symphonic premiere of his piece “A Counting Out Song” with an international broadcast on BBC Radio 3 from the Queen Elizabeth Hall at the Southbank Centre in London, featuring soloists Rob Luft, Corrie Dick, and Tom McCredie.
As a conductor and arranger, he has collaborated with various symphony orchestras, including the ICO Orchestra of Magna Grecia (with singers Ola Onabulé, Aliki from Britain’s Got Talent, Achille Lauro, Ermal Meta, Frida Bollani Magoni, and Fabio Cinti), the Filarmonici Friulani Youth Orchestra (with singer Boris Savoldelli and drummer U.T. Gandhi), and the Sanremo Symphony Orchestra (Ermal Meta).
Additionally, Marco has participated in numerous collaborations and recordings as a pianist, composer, and jazz orchestra conductor. These include the Gubbio NoBorders Big Band with trumpeter Fabrizio Bosso, the Verdi Jazz Orchestra with Pino Jodice and saxophonist Emanuele Cisi, the Colours Jazz Orchestra directed by Massimo Morganti, as well as the orchestras of Mario Corvini, Antonello Sorrentino, and the Orchestra Jazz della Sardegna (OJS).
He has received over 200 commissions for compositions, arrangements, and transcriptions for solo instruments, small ensembles, big bands, choirs, vocal groups, symphony orchestras, and wind orchestras.
His original compositions are published in educational manuals by Morlacchi Editore, Volontè & Co Srl, and Edizioni Pizzicato Verlag Helvetia.
The judges for the 2024 competition were:
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