Grand finale
Accomplished pianist to accompany ASO
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The Altoona Symphony Orchestra presents "Bond and Beyond" for its 94th season finale at 7:30 p.m. May 20 at the Mishler Theatre.
Piano virtuoso Thomas Pandolfi will perform British composer/arranger Simon Proctor's "James Bond Piano Concerto" and "The Hollywood Concerto."
"I'm really looking forward to returning to Altoona as it's been a while since I've been there," Pandolfi said. He last performed here in 2007.
A dual-degree graduate of The Juilliard School in New York City, he's performed around the world at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, Strathmore, The Kennedy Center, Kiev Opera House, Bucharest's Romanian Athenaeum, London's Cadogan Hall and many others. The Washington Post called Pandolfi a "master of both the grand gesture and the sensual line... Pandolfi's large-scale pianism seemed under tight control yet in no way muted the passion of his performance... projected with an exquisite sense of lyrical gesture."
"He's a very musical and emotional artist who really connects with audiences. He is just really fun to watch when he performs and really captures the audience in a live performance," said Maestro Nick Palmer, who also serves as ASO music director and conductor.
Proctor has created a new genre called "Fantasia Piano Concertos," each one an extended virtuosic medley of famous and related themes, according to his website. The "James Bond Concerto" and "The Hollywood Concerto" are two among his 32 compositions for orchestra and piano, according to the Navon Records website.
Interestingly, Palmer said, the "James Bond Concerto" receives an update each time a new James Bond film is released. With the release of the 2021 film "No Time to Die," 25 Bond films are represented.
"It's a piano concerto in the style of a classical composer like Rachmaninoff," Palmer said.
"Pandolfi brings a world class soloist's sensibility to these popular concertos. He approaches 'Nobody Does It Better,' the Carly Simon song from the Bond film 'The Spy Who Loved Me,' the same way he would approach Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto," Palmer said.
"The Hollywood Concerto" is composed of well-recognized movie themes such as "Time of My Life" from "Dirty Dancing," "My Heart Will Go On" from "The Titanic" and it has music from western movies like the "Magnificent Seven," It's a combination of lots and lots of films," Palmer said.
Pandolfi said he and Proctor met through a shared manager.
"(Proctor) has these very unique piano concertos that are based on popular themes. It's a really fun piece. Anyone who loves the James Bond movies or likes the soundtracks from those will go crazy for this concerto. It's a lot of fun. It's done in a very virtuoso style of (Franz) Liszt and (Sergei) Rachmaninoff. So, the piano is flying wild all over the place. Yet there's also a lot of real lyricism, real beauty and beautiful spots with interplay with the orchestra. There's even a lot of rhythm too. It's got a mix for everyone," Pandolfi said.
"The Hollywood Concerto" has selections from the golden movie era, such as "Tara's Theme" from "Gone with the Wind" to more recent themes, such as from "Mission Impossible."
"It's like a piano concerto in one way that no one has ever heard before. And in another way, it will be extremely recognizable, extremely marketable and very accessible," Pandolfi said.
Pandolfi has a visually energetic and entertaining playing style, which is unchoreographed, he said, but arises from his musical passion.
"I'm very immersed in the moment. I'm so immersed in what I'm doing -- I'm not aware of my body motions. It's particularly fun when collaborating with an orchestra," he said. "There is really a conversation between the conductor, the orchestra and myself. I love working with Nick. We have a really great working relationship. He's like my musical brother. It's a great collaborative effort in a concerto."
The Altoona Symphony Orchestra will have selections from the movies "The Godfather," "The Greatest Showman," "Chariots of Fire" and a western medley featuring the "Magnificent Seven" and "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly."
This concert marks the end of the first full season with Palmer as music director and conductor and clarinetist Janey Schwind as executive director. Both previously served the orchestra for many years -- Schwind as orchestra member, musician manager and music librarian and Palmer as music director and conductor from 1996-2007 and as principal pops conductor since 2016.
"It's a great honor and thrill to be back again," Palmer said. "We had a great year with expanding ticket sales and new people coming to the symphony. Janey Schwind, our executive director, and our staff have done a remarkable job with social media and marketing and that's been a big factor in the increase in the size of the audience. We are increasing our attendance in different demographics that we haven't seen a lot of in the past."
"This whole season was extremely exciting for me personally as executive director to get a full year under my belt doing all the various tasks of the job that I do," Schwind said. "I feel the biggest area of growth has been within our audiences and people we have been able to reach. We're at a good starting point. Reaching as many community members as we can is a huge win for us and a huge win for our team. ... We're proud of how we have expanded this year."