Jaan Pallandi
Q. When did you join SYO?
R. 2010
Q. What instruments did you play in SYO?
R. Double bass
Q. What is your favourite memory of SYO?
R. It’s not a specific moment but I do remember that rehearsing every week gave me a feeling of purpose and excitement.
Q. What role does music play in your life?
R. Music fulfils many roles in my life from the very poignant to the very mundane. It is my job and continues to be a source of fascination and direction. It can provide an outlet for expression and support my mental health. It can facilitate socialisation and help me to connect with new and old friends. It can make the task of cleaning much more palatable.
Q. What is your favourite musical repertoire from the SYO performances?
R. It’s a bit of a cop out answer but there is too much to choose from.
Q. What advice would you give young musicians today?
R. Stay connected to your early experiences of falling in love with music – the joy, wonderment, release, or whatever that was for you. Though our relationship to music inevitably changes over our lifetimes, these early experiences illuminate what within music is important to us, even when we get distracted by what is not.
For me that means trying to bring as much fun, lightness, and curiosity to my music making as I can.
Jaan Pallandi is a multi-instrumentalist performer, composer and arranger from Sydney. He has been a member of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra double bass section since 2016, and also regularly plays as a casual musician with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.
Beyond the orchestra, Jaan is an active chamber musician and has played at the Four Winds Festival, with the Tarsus collective, and the Omega Ensemble. He has performed early music with the Australian Haydn Ensemble, the Bach Akademie Australia, and Muffat Collective, contemporary music with the Sydney Chamber Opera, as a concerto soloist with the Sydney Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra, and improvised experimental music at the Rouse Hill Psychadelia festival.
As a tutor Jaan has worked for the Australian Youth Orchestra, Sydney Youth Orchestra, and the Border Music Camp. Away from the double bass, Jaan loves writing and arranging music, serves as a board member for Ensemble Apex, and has a keen interest in jazz piano.