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soon included over 4,000. Currently serving 3,500
local children, the Philharmonic has serenaded
a grand total of 13,345. From public schools to
private schools and home schools, the program
is offered to 1st, 2nd and 4th grades. Each child
is gifted with a recorder and music book. Wolff
explains, “Music teachers in the classrooms
teach the children to play their recorders. At the
end of the school year, the students gather to
form an orchestra of a 1,000 plus children along
with the symphony orchestra—it’s a high energy,
incredible sort of thing!”
Overseeing operations for the professional
orchestra, Wolff assures it’s nonstop with yearround
fundraising and concerts every single
month from September to May. Wolff tells,
“We’re always in production for our next event.
All of the time and effort behind the scenes pays
off when you look out over the stage and see the
audience—that’s the best part of the job!”
The vision for the Carolina Philharmonic
began in New York City. Wolff actually started
the orchestra before moving to Pinehurst but
soon recognized it could only take off once
he committed to moving. When Sacred Heart
Catholic Church in Pinehurst needed a music
director, Wolff filled the position, and the rest is
history.
Supportive of the Carolina Philharmonic,
Father Pitts offered Founders Hall at Sacred
Heart which became the home venue for the
orchestra. Wolff remembers the early days, “We
Grand Maestro David Michael Wolff shares
his joy of conducting with students.
The Carolina Philharmonic hosts an annual concert with Moore County school children.
started with nothing. Everything was organic
as I would design the program, sell the tickets,
usher the guests and hand out the programs
that were still warm from the copy machine just
down the hall. Once the guests were seated, then
I would sit down at the piano and play.” As locals
began attending the regular performances,
they started inviting guests to come and hear
the music. After two years at Sacred Heart, the
Carolina Philharmonic came home to 5 Market
Square in Pinehurst and opened the box office
doors eight years ago.
One such dedicated attendee Kathleen
Wilford, known as Kathy, became involved with
the organization early on and now serves as
Board Chair. Kathy shows a handwritten letter
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“I always
went to
sleep
hearing the
piano. My
mom would
... play the
piano as we
were going
to sleep."
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music! Hosting concerts for adults is amazing,
but when you get the children involved, it’s a
whole different story. They unexpectedly fall
in love with the music, the orchestra and with
themselves as musicians—that’s exciting!” With
a dual mission to provide exceptional music for
audiences of all ages to enjoy while at the same
time providing music education for children,
the Carolina Philharmonic serves.
When Carnegie Hall asked the Carolina
Philharmonic to become the first orchestra in
North Carolina to provide their music program
to elementary kids, the Philharmonic accepted
the invitation. Developed in New York City, the
interactive orchestral program introduces a mix
between a meet the orchestra concert and a rock
concert. Over the years, the reach has grown
exponentially. In the first year, twenty-five local
children participated. During the second year,
the reach doubled to fifty children and grew to
one hundred in the third year. In the fourth year,
the program expanded to 1,100 children and
from a child who could not attend the fourth
grade concert. She reads his heartfelt words and
tells this is one of many letters. Kathy shares, “We
welcome every first, second, and fourth grade
child in the Moore County school system into
our program. (Third and fifth grades are covered
by the North Carolina Symphony who offers
an entirely different program.) Once a school
year of music education is fulfilled, the children
participate in the multimedia event with the
orchestra. The kids will sing and dance—they
raise the roof!”
The Philharmonic also manages an after–
school junior orchestra hosting between 50 to
100 children from the local school system with
first come, first serve availability. Kathy shares,
“Our passion to promote music remains a top
priority. If a child does not have an instrument
of their own, then we provide one for them.”
Just as with the music education, Wolff
brings the same energy and enthusiasm to the
audiences who attend the season performances.
Sharing the stage with the orchestra members,
Wolff conducts the show. Kathy explains, “The
orchestra consists of professional musicians
who travel statewide. Depending on the piece,
the size of the orchestra averages around
fifty members who are paid per event. Some
performances feature David solo at the piano—
he’s incredible!” Kathy exclaims, “David is a
gifted instructor, a gifted maestro who has the
ability to hear each and every instrument. He
can note who is coming in late, who’s coming
in early, who’s a little low, a little high. He has
incredible audio skills!”
Music has been
a part of Wolff’s life
since childhood. Wolff
remembers, “I always
went to sleep hearing
the piano. My mom
would put her four
boys to bed, and she
would play the piano
as we were going to
sleep. The upright
piano downstairs was
her way to unwind at
the end of each day.
I don’t remember
exactly when I started
playing the piano, but
I saw a picture of me
when I was four years old giving my younger
brother Dan, who was three, a piano lesson. I
asked for lessons when I was about six.”
In choosing a teacher, Wolff and his mom
auditioned with several in order to find the
perfect match. Wolff chose a teacher named
Patricia Reeve who was “an inspirational,
extraordinary person—a genius teacher who
would tell me to not practice so much,” informs
David. “She had an amazing impact on her
students as she was able to relate music to so
many life lessons.”
A teacher who encouraged to not practice so
much? “Yes! When I was like nine or ten, I would
practice four hours a day on my own,” tells
David. “My mom would warn, ‘If you don’t finish
your vegetables, then you can’t play piano.’ I
would eat one pea at a time trying to get it down
so that I could go play the piano.”
When the public school put all the gifted
kids together Wolff thought that was great!
David laughs, “I failed preschool as my teacher
said I should not move on to kindergarten, but I
made up for it by skipping a grade in elementary
school. Middle school was a disaster. I just
totally fell apart and asked my parents if I could
please stay home and practice piano. By the
time I was 12, I was studying with university
professors who provided piano lessons. In 8th
grade, I completed a year at community college.
By 19 years old, I graduated from University of
Washington with a degree in Piano Performance,
with a second major in Romance Languages.”
Moving to New York City on his 20th
birthday, Wolff finished up his Master’s Degree
with Byron Janis and enjoyed 5 years in NYC
before studying in Rome. Through his work
p.30 The Pinehurst Gazette, Inc. No. 136