Frank William Brazinski

Frank William Brazinski was born May 8, 1932 and passed away August 11, 2012.

He was the son of Sophia Caroline Pavidis, who was born in Lithuania and

immigrated to the United States early last century. Frank grew up in Elizabeth, New

Jersey during the Depression in an apartment in which his mother’s most prized

possession was a Kurtzmann upright piano, which he started hammering when he

was the tender age of 4. Frank was a graduate of Oberlin College’s Conservatory of

Music and the University of Southern California, holding Bachelor and Master

Degrees in Composition. His teachers include Richard Hoffmann, Ingolf Dahl, Miklos

Rozsa and David Raskin. While attending Oberlin, Frank met his wife, Janet Ruth

Villers. They were married on June 7, 1959 in Oberlin’s Finney Chapel. Frank and

Jan were married until her sudden passing in 1992. Frank moved to Amityville in

1969. He began working with the Amityville Community Theater where he worked

with the American actor Brian Dennehy. He chose to pursue a path in education to

share his passion for music with young people. Frank, also known as the beloved

“Mr. B,” was a teacher for over 40 years, teaching in the Copiague, Oceanside, and

Oyster Bay School Districts in New York. Additionally, Frank served as the Director of

Vocal Music at Oceanside High School, Organist and Choir Director at Simpson

United Methodist Church of Amityville, and Artistic Director of Britten-on-the-Bay. He

was also a proud, founding member and pianist for the Bay Big Band in his

retirement years. In addition to his teaching career, Frank composed music

throughout his life. As a composer, he was the recipient of numerous honors and

awards, including two Ford Foundation Fellowships for the Arts, two BMI grants for

composition, and the United States Government Working Fellowship. He was

nominated three times for the Pulitzer Prize in Music and was a member of Who’s

Who In The World. He has left behind an impressive music portfolio that includes

Symphonies, Ballets, Concerti, works for chamber music, choral pieces, concert

band compositions, instrumental works, and vocal works. His works have been

performed by the Oklahoma City Symphony, the Long Island String Quartet, and the

Cascade Symphony of Washington. Most recently, Frank’s unique “Sonatina for Alto

Saxophone and Piano” premiered in London, England. There are several

commercially available recordings of his works by the Slovak Radio Radio, Latvian

Radio Chorus among others.