Sandra Rose Catandella

Sandra Rose (Matz) Catandella was born on July 3, 1940, to Michael and Agnes Matz Jr. Her lifelong devotion to music began at age ten in the library of California Avenue School on Long Island, where she first studied violin — propping her music on bookshelves for lack of stands. Within six months, her teacher urged private study, marking the start of her musical journey.

By thirteen, Sandra joined the Hempstead High School Orchestra Summer Program, where the sight of Respighi’s Pines of Rome first stirred her awe. She soon played in an orchestra of one hundred students, guided by visiting members of the New York Philharmonic. Over four years of rigorous training, she rehearsed before and after school, performed under guest conductors William Schuman, Morton Gould, Eli Sigmeister, and Norman Dello Joio, and earned the honor of concertmistress her senior year.

At sixteen, Sandra was accepted to the Crane School of Music at Potsdam State University with a scholarship. She toured with the “Fiddling Five,” performed under Robert Shaw in Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, and played the solo representing the ascension of the spirit — a highlight of her college career.

After graduation, she began teaching strings and orchestra in the Harborfields Greenlawn School District, where she met her mentor and future husband, George Joseph Catandella, a Juilliard‑trained pianist. They married on December 23, 1962, and shared a lifelong musical partnership.

Sandra taught public school strings for 21 years, later becoming a Suzuki teacher and private instructor for 25 years. She performed with numerous orchestras across Long Island and Florida, including the Long Island Symphony, Gulf Coast Symphony, and Venice Symphony, and participated in a 9/11 benefit concert with the West Coast Symphony.

Sandra and George raised two daughters — Lisa, a retired principal of Oak Park Elementary School in Brentwood, NY, and Shana, a retired professional clarinetist with the U.S. Navy Band in Washington, D.C. Her life was one of music, devotion, discipline, and love — a legacy carried forward by her family and the countless students and audiences she inspired.