Laetitia Orlandi

completed the Doctor of Music with Music Performance degree at North-West University with Prof Liesl van der Merwe as her promotor. Her research focused on the spiritual music-making experiences of pianists. As a graduate of the University of Pretoria, she completed her BMus, BMus (Hons), and MMus degrees in Performing Arts cum laude, as well as the UNISA Teacher’s and Performer’s Licentiates in Piano, Chamber Music, and Vocal Accompaniment under the tutelage of Prof Ella Fourie. Laetitia’s academic career spans 24 years in the Faculty of Arts & Design at the Tshwane University of Technology (South Africa) where she filled several academic leadership positions such as Academic Section Head, Acting Head of Department (Performing Arts, and Design Studies), and Assistant Dean (Teaching & Learning). In her role as a repetiteur, she accompanied staged productions of more than 17 different operas. Laetitia frequently serves as an accompanist, chairperson of shadow juries, jury coordinator, and adjudicator of national and international music competitions and events. She also regularly performs as a collaborative pianist with established singers and instrumentalists at prominent venues and arts festivals. She holds an MBA in Educational Management from the Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences (Helsinki, Finland) and is a certified Integral Coach® through the Centre for Coaching (CfC) at the University of Cape Town (UCT) Business School. Laetitia lives in Pretoria with her husband and their two young adult sons.