Today we’d like to introduce you to Juli Orlandini.
Hi Juli, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am originally from New Jersey. I’ve been invovled in all sorts of music from a very young age, but choir has been a lifelong passion. I joined my first choir—the now defunct “New Jesery Children’s Choir” at age 7, and can proudly say at age 39 that I’ve never NOT been actively involved in at least one choral ensemble since—not even for a month.
I went to a choir-specific music conservatory in Princeton, NJ called Westminster Choir College, where I studied both musical theater and music education. However, I fell firmly in love with teaching and dropped my theater major early on. I graduated and taught very briefly in the NJ public school system before moving, on a whim, with a good friend to Denver, Colorado.
My first *real* longterm job was at a public K-12 school in rural Colorado, about an hour east of Denver. I taught for 4 years, and while I loved the kids and the day-to-day of the position, I didn’t love being a public school teach for a variety of reasons. I was involved in a couple semi-professional choirs as a singer, and I began teaching part time 2 days a week with a non-profit children’s choir called Denver Children’s Choir. I began to grow a passion for mission driven work and informal learning and decided to pursue higher education to better prepare me for a career outside of the public school system. I began a mostly-online masters program through Johns Hopkins in “Museum Studies,” thinking it would be a great way to use my skills as a teacher in more informal, artistic settings, all while regularly performing as a gigging musician and teaching more and more afterschool programs with DCC. (Ah, to be 23 again…)
However, almost exactly as I started my Masters, the Children’s Choir offered me a full time Director position, where I would help build out the younger ensembles within the large (9-ensemble) organization. I worked with public schools to provide cheap and free music education to singers, especially those enrolled in schools with above 90% of their population on free-and-reduced lunch. DCC fought to provide access to singers from ALL walks of life, while “inspiring harmony, in music and in life.” I was young and inexperienced… looking back, I did not nail it at the administrative side of this position. However, I learned an INCREDIBLE amount about non-profit work, especially from my two bad-ass bosses, Leslie and Lisa, who built this (now 30 year old) organization from the ground up. Combined with a smattering of arts administration courses for my masters, I was beginning to build a solid foundation in what is NOW my unique career in non-profit performance arts.
I left the public school system to focus on the children’s choir (which, to be clear, was a 4/5 full time position, not a completely full time one). I was offered a part-time, limited posiiton with a fancy art museum called the Clyfford Still Museum, where I helped develop the new organization’s education programs! When the limited (grant funded) position ended, I was offered the full time job, but chose to focus on the children’s choir instead.
I held a smattering of small side jobs and volunteer roles during this period as well: I volunteered in the History Colorado Center’s in-house fabrication studio, creating displays and props for the museum. I continued to be a gigging musician, and eventually joined the Board of Directors of Kantorei, a semi-pro chamber ensemble.. I eventually was hired to help with their communications, too! I also served on the “Colorado American Choral Directors Association” Board as the “Children’s Choir Repertoire and Standards” chair, and dabbled in professional-level cosplay. (I won first prize for my Duras Sisters costumes at the national Star Trek Convention back in the mid 2010s, and grew a small online following.)
In 2012, when I was in my mid 20s, my mother—my person, my rock, my support system—passed from breast cancer. She was always my biggest fan, and my biggest supporter. She always encouraged me to follow my heart, to take risks, and to be a kind, generous, and quirky person. She is the biggest reason that I have always been a grounded, confident, self-assured person. She’s also the reason I’ve always felt comfortable being a little nerdy… a little artsy… and a little weird—not for attention, but for authenticity.
It wasn’t long after this that I met my husband, Phil, who was finishing his doctorate in Geology at CU Boulder. We got married in 2018, and in 2019, his first post-school position moved us to Austin, TX.
We arrived about 4 months before the start of the pandemic. I was devastated to leave my network… my colleagues… my community. I had (somewhat accidentally) started a weirdly-successful Etsy business sewing liturgical stoles and banners for church employees, so I continued to sell my art online. (I had made a stole for a pastor friend who left a job at a church I was working at briefly, and she posted it online… within months I was taking more orders than I could possibly make!). My amazing husband, knowing I was sad to move and didn’t have much choice in the matter had said to me “you don’t have to get a REAL job right away… why don’t you take a year or two to figure out exactly what you want to be doing, and network and stuff!”
SO, we got to Austin, and I made every coffee date I could. I met several great people, started singing in some awesome ensembles, and started to volunteer where I could with small non profits arts groups who needed help. THEN BOOM, pandemic….
Long story short, here, I ended up helping as a guest conductor with Panoramic Voices for their first post-pandemic performance. Their regular director was unavailable for the performance, and I got to fill in. When he stepped away from the position, I was hired as Interim Executive Director & Conductor, and just before our first concert, the Board decided to make my position official/not temporary and remove the “interim” from my title. The following season we changed my role to “Managing Artistic Director,” and I’m thrilled to be closing out my 4th season at the helm of this AMAZING organization.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I’ve led a pretty privileged life, honestly. I grew up with a supportive family and wonderful friends… I was encouraged from a young age to follow my heart, which led to me having no shortage of incredible experiences (especially in the arts) that prepared me for my job.
My mother’s death in my early twenties was the single biggest kick in the teeth for me. She died just as I was beginning my role with the Denver Children’s Choir (my first real conducting/directing role). In fact, she died just 3 weeks after coming to my FIRST concert leading the group… Always my biggest fan, she was determined to be there. I will always be grateful she made it to that.
That having been said, she never met my husband—whom she would have loved—and never got to see me in my current role with Panoramic Voices, which I know she would have been endlessly proud of. I think about her all of the time, and miss her most acutely during performances. She would have been over the moon wathcing me in my element.
The second biggest “struggle” was moving to Austin, actually… I married my husband in the summer of 2018, and shortly after that, he finished his PhD, leading to his first post-graduation job at UT Austin. I was DEVASTATED to leave Denver… I was terrified of losing my professional network and my friends. I was sure I would never find a job that was as uniquely suited to me as the children’s choir. And I was nervous about Texas weather and politics.
As I said on the previous question, too… we arrived just in time for the pandemic. Just 4 months after arriving, the world shut down. However, that time without responsibilities and gigs and obligations allowed me the time I needed to netowrk and connect, while plugging in (as a volunteer) with some small arts non profits that needed up getting through a difficult time. I helped a small, non-profit choir get their non-profit status and form their first board… I helped another put on virtual productions… and I found Panoramic Voices.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I started singing in choirs when I was about 7 years old. I’ve never NOT been invovled with one since. I began college (at Westminster Choir College) as a theater/education double major, but quickly found a passion for the latter and dropped the former.
As an educator, I’ve been praised for the energy, creativity, and authenticity I bring to leadership. I’ve always been a confident person, and I think my ability to be deeply comfortable in my own skin radiates out to my singers. This has always helped me *hook* my students or singers. I’ve been told that I make people feel safe and included and welcome. This has been such a huge part of Pano’s success in growing from about 65 singers to over 350 regularly interested in our projects.
But more importantly, I program creative, unique concerts that completely radiate joy. Joy is my biggest priority in the arts. The world can be so hurtful and hard, and to me, coming together to make music is an inherently joyful act. While Panoramic Voices *does* tackle serious and sometimes *darker* repertoire, we are mostly known for events/concerts that are overflowing with big, loud, joyful energy. While this is absolutely a team effort, I know that it is at least a little bit the result of my programming and my leadership (and a reflection of my own BIG personality)… beyond just putting on happy shows, I’ve built and incredible community of almost 350 singers who choose, intentionally, to engage in joy… as a team! It’s been so rewarding to see my personal vision really STICK with this organization. The *joy* message is so deeply infectious, and I’m really proud of that.
It’s also been really fun to push the limits of what a volunteer choir will sign up for. Last season we did a full concert of 90s pop hits (re-written for choir and orchestra)… first mentioning this concept received mixed reactions, but singers went with it, and it ended up being one of our most highly-reviewed, popular shows. This season we did a full concert with a Viking Folk band that I found at the Texas Renaissance Festival… again, there was some eye rolling at first. And now it’s all I hear about. When I say that authenticity matters, I think this is what I mean. I have some quirky ideas, but I trust my own ability to determine what will and will not work. I trust my gut, and I stay true to my vision for the ensemble, even when it doesn’t seem like others *get it.* So far, it’s really, really, really worked out well for me and for Pano! I’m pretty oroud of that.
The other big thing I’m proud of in my work with Panoramic Voices is my dedication to collaboration. It sounds silly now, as this has become the norm in just the last few years… but our organization right out of the pandemic quickly gained a reputation as a deeply collaborative group that truly lifts up artists, musicians, collaborators, colleagues, and even… gulp… competitors. We came right out of the gate promoting our colleagues’ events to our network (while encouraging our own singers to go to events and support other groups)… we began hiring local musicians, bands, ensembles and more as featured guests, and local composers to write and arrange music for us. We regularly lift up marginalized voices in a way that is *genuine* and not just lip service. All of these things are little tiny pieces of what help us meet our “music without borders” mission, but I think they’re very tangible to not just our internal community, but the broader one as well. We have a reputation for really DOING IT, and I think this is the single thing of which I am the most proud.
I think that I’ve always been a little quirky… a little nerdy… a little silly… and a little chaotic. I was so very lucky to grow up with a family who celebrated my quirks (instilling confidence). I think people are drawn to authenticity (socially and professionally), and I think that my leadership style is very much wrapped up in being genuine and transparent with my singers. In a town with a LOT of artists trying to break through the noise—and with a lot of reasons to NOT be a happy, confident person in general—I really do think this is a BIG part of what has made me successful in the arts. (Well, that and, I actually LIKE to do the administrative work… but that’s a different story.)
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I think I kind of already said this but…
There are core values that I think a lot of humans would SAY they believe in, but maybe don’t prioritize or celebrate. For me, it took moving to Austin to really turn in to a bad ass… in my 20s (in Denver) I was constantly trying to follow rules, and work my way up in this career or that career… but moving to a new city gave me an opportunity to examine who I was—as a person, but also as a musician and as a prodessional in the arts—and carefully curate my own presentation of myself. My values didn’t change or anything, and like I said, I’ve always felt confident… but I had to choose to move to Austin and take up space for myself. I had to choose to make an impression and to netowrk and to volutneer and connect and work hard. I couldn’t believe how quickly I was able to meet the people I needed to meet, and find the perfect role for myself in this community, and it all comes down to the core values I CHOOSE to put out into the world: Being genuine. Being authentic. Being compassionate and empathetic, while still carving our your own unique space in the world. Being willing to work hard, but also willing to be silly and joyful at the expense of perfection.
Contact Info:
- Website: juliorlandini.com and panoramicvoices.org
- Instagram: @juliorlandini; @panoramic_voices
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jumadow
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/panoramicvoices
