Baldassare Donato (also Donati) (1525-1530 – June 1603) – Italian composer and singer of the Venetian school of the late Renaissance. The first record of Donato is as a singer at St. Mark’s in Venice in 1550, and he was given charge of the musical training of the boys there in 1562 to become  maestro di cappella of St. Mark’s Basilica.  He was an important figure in the development of Italian secular music, especially the villanella.