Submitted by: Dan Rich

Lawrence A. Dominello

Nov. 16, 1952 - June 17, 2003

South Bend Tribune 7/20/2003

SOUTH BEND-- Memorial services for Lawrence "Larry" Dominello, 50, of Burbank, Calif., are set for 11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 2nd, in St. Joseph's Catholic Church, South Bend, Ind. He died on Thursday, June 17th, in his home after enduring a lengthy struggle with brain cancer.

A professional pianist who began playing by ear at the age of three, Larry was able to continue playing music and prepare gourmet meals for his friends and family until three weeks prior to his death. During his last 18 months, he was constantly surrounded by the loving care of his daughters, family members and longtime friends.

He is survived by daughters, Marisa and Talia Dominello of Burbank; his mother, Helen Dominello of South Bend; and two brothers, James (Pamela) Dominello Jr. of South Bend and Leonard (Mary Beth) Dominello of Granger, Ind.; his godmother, Josephine Bamber of Granger; and by eight nephews and nieces, Carla Dominello of Chicago, Ill., Andrew (Liz) Dominello of Wilmette, Ill., Andrea (Matthew) Remke of Petersburg, Ky., Anthony (Caela) Dominello, Michael (Kim) Dominello and Vincent (Mary Beth) Dominello, all of South Bend, and Maria (Thomas) Panowicz and Lisa (Mark) Winde of Granger.

Larry was born in South Bend on Nov. 16, 1952, to Helen and James Dominello Sr., and graduated from St. Joseph's High School in 1970. He studied arranging and composition at Berklee College of Music, Boston, Mass., where he received a bachelor of music composition degree in 1974. After graduation, he taught music harmony and arranging at Berklee before moving to Los Angeles, Calif., to launch a career in film music arranging. His creative talents were formally recognized in 1982 when his compositions were commissioned by the New American Jazz Philharmonic, and were performed by the noted musical director, Jack Elliott. In 1985 he was honored by being one of four arrangers to be awarded a fellowship to study arranging at the Sundance Film Institute.

In recent years, Larry worked for noted Hollywood composers such as Jorge Calandrelli, for whom he assisted in orchestrating "Our Favorite Things," a PBS TV Christmas musical from Vienna, featuring Placido Domingo, Tony Bennett and Vanessa Williams. His biggest movie assignment was as orchestrator and orchestral pianist for composer Mark Mothersbaugh for the feature film, "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle." Earlier, he had worked with composer Miles Goodman, providing orchestrations for feature films such as "La Bamba" and "Outback Bound." Larry was well-known in the Los Angeles music community as a gifted solo pianist with a delicate touch who could play countless musical requests by ear. For years he was the featured performer at the Beverly Hills Wilshire Hotel. His versatility extended to jazz arrangements. Carl Saunders, a noted jazz trumpet player, featured Larry's arrangements in his "Eclecticism" and "Be Bop Big Band" albums. According to Saunders, "Larry's approach to orchestrating was so different than anyone I've ever heard ... so much color, beauty and taste."

Following Mass in St. Joseph's Church, friends and family are invited to share their memories of Larry at a luncheon to be held in Honker's Restaurant, Day Road, Mishawaka, beginning at 12:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Larry Dominello Fund, Post Office Box 837, Notre Dame, IN 46556-0837.