An ‘Idol’ hand helps tune up contestants

Michael Orland

Musical director

Latest project: Fox’s “American Idol.”

A week in the life: “On Thursday, the kids will come in with a list of songs they like. The vocal coach and I work with each contestant for one hour. In that one-hour process, they pick the song [for the next show] and I do an arrangement. I then give all the music to our music producer, who takes all the songs and orchestrates them.

“On Friday, the vocal coach and I take the kids for another half-hour session and we perfect their song.

“On Saturday, we are at the recording studios all day. The orchestra goes in the morning and records all the tracks.

“On Monday, we actually do another session with all the contestants with their actual tracks to make sure they are really comfortable. Also on Monday, we have to teach the kids the group number they are about to perform on Wednesday. It’s all fast-paced.”

Tact, tact, tact: “It’s a matter of us playing the songs and saying to them, ‘Listen to this one.’ But you can’t say, ‘You should do this one.’ We have to let them make their own decision. It’s a hard, tricky position to be in.”

The anti-Simon Cowell: “These kids are under such pressure and they have to be publicly critiqued. I can’t even imagine how they do it. I feel like I have become like their parents. It is so funny. I probably overcompensate. I am the antithesis of Simon. I feel like they go through so much. I am light and fun and humorous with them, and I am probably a little bit over-nurturing.”

Guild or union: The Musicians Union.

The rewards: “It’s, like, the most unbelievable way to make a living. Even when I was just working in piano bars and making $100 a night, I was thrilled.”

Age: 42.

Roommates: “American Idol’s” top two runners-up from last year: Clay Aiken and Kimberly Locke

Background: “I started taking private piano lessons when I was 4. My parents told me they had to make me stop practicing for me to go and do my homework. But when it was time to go to college my parents were like, ‘It’s great you play, but you should do something realistic and go be an accountant and on the side, when you are stressed out from doing taxes, you could play piano.’ So I went to school [the University of Massachusetts at Amherst] to be an accountant. At school, I started making a little money on the weekends playing piano for a dinner theater group. I thought, ‘Wow, this is unbelievable.’ I literally dropped out of school and went to New York.”

Credits: Tickled the ivories in Manhattan for six years, eventually segueing to musical director for several Broadway performers’ cabaret acts. Moved to Los Angeles 17 years ago as musical director for the ventriloquist-comic Wayland Flowers. He has performed with and conducted for Gladys Knight, Jennifer Holliday, Lainie Kazan, Chita Rivera and Nell Carter.

The Barry Manilow connection: Orland worked as a rehearsal pianist on a Manilow tour. “Idol’s” first musical director was the Manilow tour conductor, and its vocal coach had been one of Manilow’s background singers. “On season one, when they needed an extra pianist on there, the two of them remembered me from Barry’s show and called me in.”

Heroes (besides Barry): “I got to meet Elton John and share the piano bench with him. I would probably say that is the highlight of my career so far.”

Oddest job: “I worked twice at Leisure World in Seal Beach with Kaye Ballard. I played there one New Year’s Eve. It’s the only place in the world where the midnight show is at 8 p.m. I have seen it all.”