Popular concert pianist’s music benefits St. Catherine
School is alma mater of Emile Pandolfi’s wife

By Laura Sumner Coon
Special to the Catholic Herald

RACINE — For Emile Pandolfi there was never a question — he would play the piano.

Even when the answer wouldn’t appease the more practical thinking adults in his life, deep down Emile knew he was born to be a musician. So when his Italian grandmother asked the young Emile what he would do when he grew up, he simply blurted, “play piano.” The reply would come back in Italian, interpreted by his mother, “That’s not a vocation, that’s an art.” And his mother would whisper, “Just say you are going to be an engineer like your dad.”

Emile said it, but he knew better. He lived in a house full of music. His Italian parents cultivated a love for classical, operatic and Big Band music during the 1950s that wrapped itself into life so well that three of the four Pandolfi children are professional musicians. Emile always knew he would play.

And play he did for a recent benefit concert at St. Catherine High School. What lured the popular concert pianist, who has dozens of recordings with millions of copies sold, to Racine? His wife, who when she graduated from Racine’s Catholic high school in 1973 was known as Judy Ruetz.

For Judy, career choice just wasn’t such a certainty as it was for her husband. She hadn’t plotted at a young age to become a music producer and concert manager. Yet, Judy knew opportunity when it presented itself, and had the confidence and intellectual curiosity to turn possibility into reality. After graduating from St. Catherine, Judy left Wisconsin for college and whatever life had waiting for her. In the early 1980s, life presented Emile. The two were married and moved from Los Angeles, where they met, to Greenville, S.C., Emile’s hometown.

From Emile’s certitude and Judy’s eye for possibility blossomed new careers. With Judy’s ingenuity applied to Emile’s passion for music, the two have created a business, MagicMusic, that has promoted Emile to be one of the top-selling pianists in a niche music market. Emile’s popular piano recordings have sold millions of copies through gift and book stores. It’s a business that has taken the two on a 30-concert tour each year, and one that has allowed them to offer their talent and know-how for the benefit of others.

On May 21, St. Catherine High School was the beneficiary. Judy returned to her alma mater in Racine with Emile, who performed a benefit concert for the school.

“I went to (St. Edward Elementary School) and graduated from here,” said Judy, as she sat in St. Catherine’s auditorium just hours before the concert. “My education and background here run very deep.”

So when a family member asked Judy if the two would consider a Racine benefit performance, there was little hesitation. “It’s a wonderful school, and it is great to be able to help it out and come home and see the family,” she said.

“Doing benefit work is one of the perks about doing what we do,” said Emile. “We can help organizations of our choice.” And they have. According to the two, Emile’s concerts have raised about $250,000 for various causes in Greenville alone.

But the benefit work is only possible because of the success of their business.

“Judy is the reason why we got from cocktail lounges to concert performing,” said Emile.

As a college music student, Emile followed the path of his piano instructor and eventually received a degree in performance from Texas Tech. His was a classical music education.

“When I got out of college, I knew I had to do something. So, I learned popular music. I had a degree in performance, but what could I do but play in restaurants and bars?”

A whole new education began for him. He started playing piano in restaurants and would have to carry stacks of popular music around with him. “It was embarrassing to lug all of it around. I could play Beethoven, but I couldn’t play, ‘Stars Fell on Alabama.’” Emile concentrated on learning how to play by ear in order to play the requests of his audiences.

He was successful. He eventually landed a regular performance job at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles, where he played between the stand-up comics who were emerging at the time — people like Jay Leno and Robin Williams.

That’s where Judy, who was the director of a small, private school, met Emile, and they fell in love. At the time, Emile didn’t even own a piano, she quipped. The two moved to Greenville and started a family. Emile performed at a private club for six years.

Then, in 1990, an idea grabbed hold of Judy. She learned of something called the “play and sell market.” A gift or book store would have music piped in through the store and a sign would be posted somewhere near the cash register, “This CD now playing.” Couldn’t Emile record one of those CDs?

Judy talked him into spending eight hours one day in a studio to record “By Request,” a collection of Broadway tunes. She found a distributor, and by 1991, the CD had national distribution. To this day, “By Request” is Emile’s bestseller. More than 700,000 copies have been sold through stores and online. The distributor was happy and decided to enter into a contract with Emile, who produced two CDs a year.

Now Magic Music, Judy and Emile’s business, has taken charge of the manufacturing and distribution of all of Emile’s recordings. “We’re pretty much an artist-owned, single-artist roster record label,” Judy said. Emile’s recordings are available online through their Web site, , which has a link to Amazon.com. They also are available at Border’s and Barnes & Noble, as well as other gift and book stores.

The success of their recording venture prompted the twosome to begin touring. Now, their concert schedule is full from fall to spring with 30 concerts. They take the summers off to record and to create a new show for the next year. That’s when Emile finds satisfaction. He does all of his own arrangements for the music he performs and the summer gives him a chance to spend time on that creative work.

The Racine concert would be their last of the season.

As Judy sat in the empty auditorium at St. Catherine, she summarized the trail of possibilities she has pursued with Emile since leaving Racine and thought aloud about the future: “We’ve been exploring the idea of doing European concerts. I don’t know. I kind of know my limits.”

But her gaze into the darkness of the auditorium as her voice trailed off hinted that she already is sizing up the possibilities that may await them.

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