SUSAN PASCALE
Director, South Pasadena Strings Program
Creator, Pascale Method™
Susan Pascale, musical director, founded the South Pasadena Strings Program in 2001.
A former symphonic violinist, Susan moved to South Pasadena from Long Island, New York. Soon after she arrived, she went to the local public school to inquire about enrolling her daughter Ariana, a 2nd grader, in the orchestra program. Ariana had played violin in her New York public school orchestra.
Pascale was astonished to discover that, like so many budget-strapped California schools, there was no instrumental or orchestral program for children under 5th grade. She describes her reaction as 'panic.' "I wandered around the school's picnic tables and expressed my upset to any parent who would listen!"
She found that many parents wished musical instruction were available through the schools. So she volunteered to teach a free beginning violin class for 6 weeks. Twenty-five students signed up. By holiday season, the group played its first concert. That was the start of the South Pasadena Children's Orchestra and the development of the Pascale Method™.
Since then, the program has grown to include more than 350 students of all ages. The program is known for its many exciting performance opportunities and routinely wins top honors at regional and national music festivals. The Children’s Orchestra is scheduled to make their 3rd trip to Carnegie Hall in Spring, 2013.
"I feel that my job as Director of the Strings Program is not only to teach the kids how to play a string instrument correctly," says Pascale, " But to create an environment that inspires them to practice – to set goals, to be a part of something larger then themselves, and to experience what it means to work hard and accomplish something really great -- whether it's performing in the school auditorium, or at Carnegie Hall. Working hard pays off. It makes you feel good about yourself."
Susan Pascale has done all this with a busy family life. Her oldest, Zak, started on cello at 4, switched to violin at 8, and finally settled on jazz saxophone. A graduate of LA County High School for the Arts (LACHSA), he is now studying instrument repair in Denver.
Ariana, the violinist who inspired the program, eventually switched to viola. In 2006, she played live on the Grammy awards as an accompanist to singer Kelly Clarkson. In 2007, she performed with a youth orchestra on an episode of the Disney Channel’s ‘Suite Life of Zach and Cody.’ Ariana won the 2008 ASTA State Championship on viola in the junior division. She is a member of the Colburn Honors Quartet and coaches young string quartets at the Strings Program.
The Pascale’s youngest daughter, Jenna, born shortly after the Strings Program was launched, began her musical studies with KinderPiano® and KinderViolin®. She is a cellist in an all-girls 8-year-old string quartet and a member of the Children's Orchestra.
Pascale’s husband, A.J., a veteran rock bass player, serves as executive director of the ever-expanding program.