In Harmony

For SPS Director of Music Orlando Pandolfi, magic is an everyday occurrence.

Last spring, Orlando “O” Pandolfi led members of the SPS orchestra in playing Saint-Säens’ Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra No. 1 with cellist Yo-Yo Ma in front of the entire St. Paul’s School community. So when he’s asked to describe a favorite moment from his 12-year tenure as head of the SPS music program, it’s natural to assume that experience might be at the top of his list.

What he says, however is, “Last night, actually,” then describes the orchestra’s first read-through of a piano concerto they will be performing later in the term. Although the student pianist was at the rehearsal, Pandolfi assumed it would take several weeks of practice before the full group would be ready to play with her. “But I could see all the training they’ve had all year, and they were all responding quickly, so during the last 15 minutes I said, ‘okay, let’s bring in [the piano],’ and we got all the way through the movement. It made me think, ‘Wow! This is going to be great by the end of May.’ And that’s the kind of thing that happens all the time.”

A classical horn player and jazz vibraphonist who trained at Juilliard, Pandolfi came to SPS after several years as a professional performer and extensive teaching experience at the secondary school level. He says that what he loves about teaching high schoolers is that his students know how to learn. “And they know how to apply that ability to learn to whatever is interesting to them,” he adds. “As a school, we’re able to bring in serious music students who have been playing since the age of 3 or 4 and they then channel that same level of discipline toward other subjects while continuing to grow musically.”

The caliber of student musicians SPS attracts is among the reasons the School can offer a full orchestra despite the relatively small size of the student body and performance facilities that are a priority on the list of near-term campus upgrades. In a typical year, there are between 50 and 60 students who participate in the orchestra program, and roughly the same number who take instrument lessons, play in small groups such as the jazz ensemble or sing in one of the SPS choirs. “That’s 20% of the student body or more,” Pandolfi says. “I’d say that’s pretty good.”