Peter Pardine
Judging by my life, it’s never too late to follow your dreams. At the age of 65, I re-experienced the passionate desire to compose music. Over fifty years ago my musical, “How Fair” was produced off-Broadway. At that time, my parents urged me to put the music “on hold” and to complete my education. Reluctantly, I took their advice and it’s really a good thing that I did; my training in psychology afforded me a long and rewarding college teaching career. In retirement, however, the “hold” has been lifted, and, as if it was planned all along, I have been given the chance to pursue my dreams as an independent artist.
These dreams have been realized in the release of my “First Album: Compositions for Piano and Other Musical Voices” (2007), as well as the release of my “Second Album: Compositions for Piano with Lyrical Poems” (2010) and “The Christmas Album: Compositions for the Holiday Season” (2010).
Whether it was fate, serendipity, or some other random process that led me back to composing music, I am not sure. What I am sure of, however, is that we live in a time of rapid change and turmoil. Current technology often disconnects us from one another and, emotionally, we tend to shut ourselves off from each other. We are living in a time when we are shutting down our own hearts. I believe we need “something” that brings us back to center, where we can enjoy our lives in a harmonious state. Music can offer a path to this end and the music that I create, hopefully, can help to open our hearts and help us to find peace in our busy lives.
I am Peter Angelo Pardine, a retired college professor living in Chicago. One would not describe me as a trained musician. I studied piano for a mere six months when I was 12 years old, and, a few lessons in violin, flute, trumpet, and baritone rounded out my personal history in the study of music. Friends refer to me as having ‘natural talent;’ a dear friend calls me a ‘savant’ (she clarified the term by implying “an unlearned, untrained brilliance in a subject”…I like that!)
What I have, I have no idea…..but I do know that there is an enduring process of some kind that permits the creation of music from the heart. I say enduring because there was a period of 45+ years that I did not play the piano. Oh, I enjoyed listening to music. I was in awe of the compositions by Hamlisch, Legrand, Webber, Elmer and Leonard Bernstein, and Sondheim, as well as the moving arrangements of Peter Matz. Yet, I really had no desire to play or compose music.
The passion to create music, however, was rekindled in 2004 when my partner, Rudy, and I visited our ‘extended family’ in Maryland. They had just purchased a baby grand; I sat at the piano and 45 years became a moment in time…songs from “How Fair” came back to me as if I had just written them. The heartfelt joy of playing my music overwhelmed me, as it did Rudy. For my birthday in December of 2004, Rudy surprised me with a Yamaha baby grand…and that was all it took.
Since then I have amassed a large catalogue of compositions. My compositions can be described as easy-listening and inspirational music. I believe that I compose melodies which, in some way, make the listener think and feel; hopefully, the music coaxes listeners to introspect about their own lives and experiences, and it reconnects them with feelings that too often are unexpressed.