Leo Damiani, a conductor and founder of the Burbank Symphony Orchestra, died Tuesday of heart failure at his Burbank home. He was 74.
Damiani was hospitalized recently for diabetes and kidney failure, family members said.
He organized the Burbank Symphony Orchestra in 1944 and served as its conductor and director for 15 years. Damiani also pressured city officials to build the Starlight Amphitheatre in the northwestern hills of Burbank as a facility for the orchestra. The outdoor theater was completed in 1950.
