Raffaele Cipriano

Raffaele Cipriano is an Italian conductor, vocal coach, composer, and computer scientist. He studied at the Conservatories of Padua and Venice with international mentors, focusing on orchestral conducting, collaborative piano, opera repertoire, and composition. In 2015 he moved to Kansas to pursue a doctorate in orchestral conducting at KU, under the supervision of Maestro David Neely. He graduated in 2018 with honors, gaining overwhelming feedback from his continuous artistic collaborations in the area (Lawrence Arts Center, Lawrence Opera Theater, Landlocked Opera, community orchestras).

For the 2018-2019 season, Cipriano was the assistant/cover conductor of Maestro De Renzi at Sarasota Opera, and since 2020 he has been the assistant conductor for the Topeka Symphony Orchestra. Recently, he was the music director for the opera Romeo and Juliet with Lawrence Opera Theater, orchestra conductor for the musical A Chorus Line in Topeka, guest conductor at the Springfield Symphony (MO), and conductor for the opera Tartuffe in 2022. 

His upcoming engagements include being the conductor for Carmen with the Vocal Academy of Opera and Cindarella with Lawrence Opera Theater. He is based in the Kansas City metropolitan area, where he conducts two community orchestras (Overland Park Orchestra and Philharmonia of Greater Kansas City) and serves as music director at the Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Shawnee.

D.M.A. University of Kansas; M.M. Conservatory of Padova (Italy); B.M. Conservatory of Venice (Italy); Ph.D. University of Udine (Italy)