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Multi-Faceted baton shaft as described by Dr. Tony Zilincik of Capital University

Posted by on 11/17/2023 to

Recreating Leonard Bernstein's baton for the movie "Maestro"

Posted by Phil Aguglia on 10/23/2023 to

In February of 2021 while with my family at Universal Studios theme park in Orlando, Fl I received a phone call from the production manager of a movie project about Leonard Bernstein with Bradley Cooper as the Maestro. It was an exhilarating project that I wanted to get right. At that point, all I knew was that I would be making all the batons for the movie which spanned his entire career. All I had to work with was what was available on the internet about his batons, so I chose the photo of the one in the Grammy museum to base my rendition on.

Given the scope of the project, I wanted to make batons to represent different eras, some with certain aspects to make them easier to photograph, and proportion them to look the same in Bradley Coopers hands as Leonards. This meant I wanted to make them a bit longer since Bradly is about 6" taller.

I was asked to keep this project and my involvement a secret until I got the green light to publicize.

As the movie release was approaching, the writers and actors strikes were in full swing, and I was preparing to build stock for the big release, I serendipitously found a story online about how Bradley Cooper found the son of Bernstein's original baton maker to provide him with batons for the movie. My heart sank as nearly two years of anticipation had just been robbed from me. I contacted the production manager who commissioned me for the project to express my sadness and he revealed that indeed both were true. My batons were used in the scenes from 1943-1955 and some of the still photos, while the Horowitz batons were used in later scenes. This makes sense and I'm actually very glad that they were able to use his batons. I only agreed in the first place because I knew that Richard Horowitz had passed in 2015.

In the spirit of respect, my version of the baton is slightly different, using a solid wood core and finger tip and I engrave the batons with the title of the movie, "Maestro" instead of using Bernstein's signature as I do for my signature artists.

I hope you enjoyed this story and will enjoy the baton even more. Thank you for visiting PaGu Batons!

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Multi Faceted Shafts- A modern take on a traditional instrument

Posted by Phil Aguglia on 7/20/2023 to

Inspired by the shape of a fancy chopstick, I wanted to see how creating a baton with an elegant multi-sided shape would affect it's performance. It not only looks beautiful, but it is more visible.

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Interview with Phil Aguglia- In The Flamingo Lounge podcast

Posted by on 6/26/2023 to

In the Flamingo Lounge with Rockabilly Greg, is a podcast dedicated to the musical history of Buffalo and Western New York. Stories old and new from people in all areas of music including broadcasters, musicians, promoters, artists and others will be told.

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Phil Aguglia, Grammy Music Educator 2023 Finalist

Posted by on 12/20/2022 to

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PaGu Batons, Phil Aguglia named Grammy Music Educator Semi-Finalist 2022

Posted by Phil Aguglia on 11/1/2022 to

Kenmore East band director Phil Aguglia is one of 25 music teachers in the U.S. to be named a semifinalist for the 2023 Music Educator Award. The award, presented by the Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum, recognizes current educators who are committed to making a significant contribution to the music education field.

The field of semifinalists, from more than 1,200 initial nominations, come from 25 cities across 18 states. Aguglia is just one of three from the state of New York and the only one from Western New York to be honored.

Aguglia began teaching at Kenmore East High School in 2002. He is part of a district-wide music department that’s been designated as a Best Community for Music Education by the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation for 12 straight years. Throughout his career, Aguglia has been involved in dozens of collaborations, has received 30 nominations or awards for excellence in teaching (including a nomination for People Magazine’s Teacher of the Year in 2012), and has hosted more than 100 guest artists.

In his spare time, Aguglia is the owner of PaGu Batons which are considered to be the preferred batons of many of the world’s most prestigious conductors. His batons were used in the 2020 Oscars.

Throughout the year, Mr. Aguglia facilitates countless opportunities for his students to perform and enrich Kenmore East and the larger Ken-Ton community through their music. He has organized multiple band trips to New Orleans, their first of which received nationwide attention as they assisted with Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he planned many creative ways to continue his students' progress including virtual collaborations and weekly concerts outside his home.

Additionally, Mr. Aguglia regularly facilitates visits and guest artist programs with prominent musicians and composers from across the country. He has also initiated many different collaborations with other high schools in WNY to promote music education and introduce students to new learning opportunities.

The field will be narrowed to 10 finalists in December with the winner receiving a $10,000 honorarium and matching grant for their school’s music program. The other nine finalists will receive $1,000 while the remaining 15 semifinalists will receive $500.

WIVB News coverage

Learn more about Phil here

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