Nino Marcelli

Nino Marcelli (about 1890 – August 4, 1967) was an Italian composer and conductor who revived the San Diego Symphony orchestra. Marcelli wrote compositions for musical theatre and oratorio including one for the Bohemian Club. After the war, Marcelli settled in San Francisco with a position as cellist in the San Francisco Symphony. Marcelli used four main themes for Philistine: the theme of Dagon, the God of the Philistines; the theme of Saph, the nobility of the race; the theme of Saph's love for humanity and his belief in brotherhood; and the theme of the forest.

In 1937, Marcelli published two instructional books, one for cellists and the other for bass players, and in 1939 he published an instructional book for orchestra and band.

Marcelli spoke as a guest lecturer at University of Southern California, University of Idaho, Western State College of Colorado and the California Music Colony. In 1950, he joined with George A. Finder to create a multi-colored plastic ukulele that would aid instruction.

At Marcelli's death, aged 77, in August 1967, the San Diego Tribune memorialized him, saying: the late Nino Marcelli contributed more than music. In no small way, his founding of the Symphony created the awareness and drive that have made San Diego not only the cultural but an educational, scientific, and economic capital of the West. Mr. Marcelli's niche in the history of our community is secure. Song of Thanks, choral work March Processional, heraldic trumpets Suite Auracana, orchestral work Ode to a Hero Music Box Minuet Two Christmas Processionals Solitude, song Deep in the Forest, song Harp of Sunset, song Song of the Andes, song 1939 – Carmelita, light opera