Frantisek Zita (1880-1946) composer and military bandleader, one of Bohemia's most performed band composers.

He received his early music training in school. At the age of fifteen, he joined the Austrian Army where he was first with the Band of the 3rd Bosnian-Herzegovinian Regiment in Budapest, where the band leader was Franz Lehar and his much older regimental drummer was his brother Jan. Lehar recommended him to the the Academy of Music in Budapest, where he studied violin with Jeno Hubay from 1899–1902 but did not graduate due to a military transfer. In 1902 he was sent to the Band of the 97th Infantry Regiment in Trieste, where he became a regimental drummer and for two years studied at the Tartini Conservatory until 1904. He was named Bandmaster in Belovar, Croatia in 1912 where he remained until 1914. He was transferred to the Band of the division in Radgon, Styria in 1915. At that time he collaborated with Matej Huban conductor of the Ljubljana Matica Orchestra in large cantata productions, withe emphasis on the works of Antonín Dvořák. In 1916 he spent a year with the regiment on the Russian front. Three years later he was appointed bandmaster of the 2nd Regimental Band in Brno. In 1920 he was the Bandmaster of the 43rd Infantry Regiment. The band was very popular for its' 17 years of existence. He built a serious wind and string component within the band. They were so good they were able to perform in the pit during opera and cantata performances and also gave symphonic concerts. At the so-called monster concerts of the combined Brno bands of the 10th and 43rd Infantry Regiments, they performed, Smetana's Vyšehrad and Valdštýn Camp, Vítězslav Novák's symphonic poem In the Tatras , Antonín Dvořák's Heroic Song and more. He retired in 1936. After his retirement he worked as a bandmaster in Brno and was also a member of the board of the Copyright Protection Association . As a composer, he wrote numerous marches for his band, many still performed today, he also wrote popular classical music and about a hundred songs, many of which were recorded.