Francesco Fanciulli (May 29, 1853 – July 17, 1915) was a Grand Duchy of Tuscany-born naturalized American band director and composer.

At age twenty he became the first cornettist at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence, and in 1875 he obtained a position in the orchestra of the Politeama Fiorentino.

Arriving in New York on September 24, 1876, he also began working as an organist at St. Peter's Church in Brooklyn and as a teacher of piano and singing.

In 1885—the year he became a naturalized American—Fanciulli became principal conductor of the Mozart Musical Union,[1] and in the early 1900s he became director of the Lillian Durell Opera Company of Boston.

[3] In 1892, Fanciulli's reputation increased when he succeeded John Philip Sousa as head of the United States Marine Band.

Despite the popularity of his compositions and the Marine Band's well-attended concerts, Fanciulli always felt burdened by the shadow of Sousa, his predecessor.

President Cleveland intervened so that Fanciulli could be released to accompany him with the Band the next day during an important speech in Philadelphia.

After the failure of the opera Malinche, Fanciulli had better luck with Priscilla: The Maid of Portsmouth, based on a story by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that was performed on several occasions.