Robert de Pasquale, former associate principal second violin for the Philadelphia Orchestra, has died at 96
He played alongside his brothers William, Joseph, and Francis in the orchestra, and also in the celebrated de Pasquale String Quartet.
Robert de Pasquale, 96, of Cape May, retired associate principal second violin for the Philadelphia Orchestra, one fourth of the celebrated de Pasquale String Quartet, cofounder of the Prysm Strings youth group, former music director at the Academy of Community Music, mentor, and Navy veteran, died Saturday, Oct. 4, of complications from pneumonia at Englewood Hospital in Bergen County, N.J.
Mr. de Pasquale joined the Philadelphia Orchestra from the New York Philharmonic in 1964 and played for years alongside his brothers William, Joseph, and Francis, and under renowned conductors Eugene Ormandy, Riccardo Muti, and Wolfgang Sawallisch. He traveled to China, Japan, Europe, Asia, South America, and elsewhere with the orchestra, and mentored young musicians and conductors everywhere he went.
“Everybody fell in love with Bobby,” said his wife, Ellen Fisher.
He played for eight years in the late 1950s and early ’60s under music directors Dimitri Mitropoulos and Leonard Bernstein with the New York Philharmonic, and earlier for the National Symphony Orchestra and the Navy Band. The de Pasquale String Quartet played together around the country for decades, appeared on national TV shows, and served as artists-in-residence at Haverford College and Villanova University.
In the 1960s, Mr. de Pasquale and his brothers filmed a 20-minute documentary called The Music Men, and he said he especially enjoyed music from the Romantic period in the 1800s. “I like it to be more from the heart,” he said. “Anything I can express from the heart, I can express beautifully.”
Mr. de Pasquale was warm, affable, and caring, his family and friends said. “He made you feel loved and valued,” said his daughter, Ellen. “You were happy being around him.”
Former student and colleague Steve Wyrczynski said: “Even though Bobby knew personally the most celebrated musicians of this century and the last, he always took time to get to know the staff, stagehands, and crew.”
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He retired from the orchestra in 1997 and became the principal teacher at the Academy of Community Music, founded by his wife. In online tributes, former students noted his “passion for music and students” and “infectious positive attitude.”
A friend said: “He had high expectations for his students and expected excellence but balanced it all with a sense of humor and playfulness.” Wyrczynski said: “His style was a combination of old-school crankiness followed by avuncular warmth.”
He also taught music at Haverford College and what became the University of the Arts, and was a founding faculty member of Prysm Strings, the strings division of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra Music Institute. He preached serious practice and kept teaching, one student said, even when tuition was late.
“He always gave his students the right next step while understanding them,” a former student said. The parent of a former student said: “Grace, kindness, dignity, perseverance, and compassion were the other lessons he taught the girls by example.”
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Robert Raymond de Pasquale was born Nov. 29, 1928, in Philadelphia. He grew up in Germantown, and his father, a violin teacher who dreamed of his own family quartet, schooled his sons in string music.
“When you heard them play together,” his wife said, “you felt you were in the presence of something holy.”
Mr. de Pasquale graduated from Germantown High School and studied at the New School of Music in Philadelphia. He joined the Navy in 1951 and played in the band until 1954.
He performed briefly with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington and joined the New York Philharmonic in 1956. He met Ellen Fisher in 1970, and they married in 1972, had a daughter, Ellen, and lived in Germantown, Mount Airy, Fort Washington, Abington Township, and Cape May.
Mr. de Pasquale was social and engaging. He enjoyed memorable days with family in Cape May, mingled with friends at Saratoga Race Course in New York, and even owned a few horses. He loved cats.
He liked to savor cigars and play Friday night poker in a group called the Men. They nicknamed him Handsome Bobby. “He was much beloved by his nonmusic friends,” a fellow poker player said.
His daughter said: “He was the best example of unconditional love.” His wife said: “Bobby was in the world to make people happy, and the world made him happy.”
In addition to his wife and daughter. Mr. de Pasquale is survived by a granddaughter and other relatives. His four brothers and a sister died earlier.
A celebration of his life is to be at 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec, 7, at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, 230 Pennswood Rd., Bryn Mawr, Pa. 19010.
Donations in his name may be made to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 424 E. 92nd St., New York, N.Y. 10128.