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Written by Matt Histand
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 Violinist Francesca dePasquale lives in a world of music. It’s
something she was born into and she can always remember being there for
her. “From day one I have been surrounded by music,” she says.
“Everyone I knew and love played an instrument so it was natural for me
to want to do it as well.”
At 17, dePasquale has been playing for 14 years. She began lessons
shortly before her third birthday, training as a Suzuki student at The
Academy of Community Music before moving on to private study. In
another family, her dedication at such a young age may have been
considered an anomaly, but not in the dePasquale family.
Her family is filled with professional musicians and instructors. Her
mother, Gloria, is a cellist with the Philadelphia Orchestra and
associate concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra. Her father,
William, was the co-concertmaster of The Philadelphia Orchestra until
his recent retirement.
But don’t start imagining taskmaster parents, she says. “I know a lot
of people from musical families that were forced to practice. What was
really wonderful—and what I still thank my parents for every day—is the
fact that they didn’t lock me in a practice room.”
Now, dePasquale closes herself into a practice room for anywhere from
four to six hours each day. This monumental dedication is made possible
through home schooling, which gives her a flexible schedule that allows
her to balance her education, music and a social life.
“I attended the Episcopal Academy, which is a wonderful school,” she
says. “They were really supportive, but when you realize what you want
to do—especially something that requires as much dedication as what I
am doing—you have to prioritize. For me, practicing was my main
concern. It’s hard to do that when you get home, eat dinner and do
homework.”
From her early childhood, dePasquale’s journey toward being a
professional musician progressed quickly. She studied with a private
instructor and family members when she was young and by nine made her
solo orchestral debut while touring Spain with the Main Line Chamber
Orchestra. But it wasn’t until she was 13, when most teens haven’t even
begun to think about the SATs, that she knew for sure that music was to
be her life’s pursuit. It was then while attending her first major
summer festival, the ENCORE School for Strings, and studying with David
and Linda Cerone, that she said everything came together.
Since dedicating herself to the violin, she has garnered numerous
awards. She won The Atonement Bach Competition in 2004, The Kennett
Symphony Competition in 2005, The Delaware County Symphony Competition
in 2006 and twice was a finalist in The Philadelphia Orchestra’s
Greenfield Competition in 2003 and 2006.
She currently studies with Philadelphia Orchestra violinist Hirono Oka
and serves as the concertmaster of The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra.
She was recently selected to play in the New York String Orchestra
Seminar, which includes two concerts in Carnegie Hall with Jaime
Laredo. This is all in addition to playing in a trio with her parents.
DePasquale’s ultimate dream is to play solo with an orchestra. “The
feeling of playing solo with an orchestra really is amazing. It’s
something that I would like to try for. It’s sort of a pipe dream. A
lot of people scoff when you tell them that, but it’s something I would
like to try.”
As for her natural talent, dePasquale acknowledges it may be true.
(“That’s what I’ve been told,” she says.) However, she gives a lot of
credit to her parent’s support and to practice. In the end, she says,
what might be most important to her success is her love for music.
“There’s no way you can devote yourself to something that much unless
you really and truly love it,” says dePasquale. “I love performing so
much. Connecting with audiences and being able to share something like
music with them is really a unique experience.”
Matt Histand lives in Philadelphia, Pa.
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