Agostini, Lucio, 1913-1996

Lucio Agostini arrived in Canada from Italy with his family when he was two, settling in Montreal. He was to become one of Canada’s most prolific music composers, joining the group of great writers, actors, directors and composers who gained fame in the era of live shows leading up to and during the golden age of radio and of radio drama.
At age 5 he began his musical training with his father, Giuseppe Agostini, a composer and conductor. He furthered his studies in harmony and composition with Louis Michiels and Henri Miro and in cello with Peter Van der Meerschen. At 15 he played tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, and cello in his father's theatre orchestra, and at 16 he played cello in the Montreal Philharmonic Orchestra. He conducted the Red and White Revue at McGill University in 1929 and 1930, and soon afterwards conducted his first radio show on CFCF. He was a professional composer before he reached the age of twenty.
From 1932 to 1943, he composed film music for the Associated Screen News of Canada newsreels, and in 1934 began working as a conductor for the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission, precursor to the CBC. He moved to Toronto in 1943 and composed and conducted the incidental music for drama series and variety programs on the CBC radio and television. For over 20 years Agostini held the position as conductor and arranger on the popular weekly series Front Page Challenge. He also conducted for the popular Juliette TV variety program in the 1950s and 60s and he was musical director and band leader for, or contributor to, many other shows.

In 1983 Agostini won the John Drainie Award from ACTRA in recognition of his contributions to broadcasting in Canada. Outside broadcasting, he composed musicals, film music for short and feature films, concertos, an opera, and a multitude of arrangements. The National Library of Canada music archives contain manuscripts and copies of some 2,000 Lucio Agostini scores.