Joseph Pach (born January 8, 1928 in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

) is a Canadian

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist.

Life and career

Pach studied the

with Christoff Dafeff at the

Toronto Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher as The Toronto Con ...

from 1933–45, and with

Kathleen Parlow Kathleen Parlow (September 20, 1890 – August 19, 1963) was a violinist known for her outstanding technique, which earned her the nickname "The lady of the golden bow". Although she left Canada at the age of four and did not permanently return ...

at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. In 1947, at the age of 19, Pach made his symphonic debut playing the

Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto The Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 was the only concerto for violin composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Composed in 1878, it is one of the best-known violin concertos. History The piece was written in Clarens, a Swiss resort on the sho ...

(Op 35 in D-Major) with the

Toronto Symphony Orchestra The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toronto ...

. He has since played and toured with many orchestras including the

National Arts Centre Orchestra The National Arts Centre Orchestra (NAC Orchestra) is a Canadian orchestra based in Ottawa, Ontario led by music director Alexander Shelley. The NAC Orchestra's primary concert venue is Southam Hall at the National Arts Centre. Since its inceptio ...

, the Halifax Symphony Orchestra, CBC Orchestra,

BBC Concert Orchestra The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale symp ...

, Royal Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, and others. In 1952, Pach was slated to be accompanied by

Mario Bernardi Mario Bernardi, (20 August 1930 – 2 June 2013) was a Canadian conductor and pianist.Arlene Nimmons (Pach), sister of

Phil Nimmons Phillip Rista Nimmons, (born June 3, 1923) is a Canadian jazz clarinetist, composer, bandleader, and educator. Nimmons is known for playing in a "Free Jazz" and mainstream styles. As well as playing jazz, Nimmons also played other genres, notab ...

, and they began performing as The Duo Pach in 1960. They spent the next few years touring England, Germany, and Canada. It was during their 1964 Canadian tour that the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Americ ...

invited them to be Resident Musicians. The couple accepted and moved to

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

where they worked and presented free Friday noon hour concerts for the next 6 years performing just about all the Violin and Piano repertoire. Pach graduated from the

with an Artist Diploma in 1947, and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from

St. Thomas University (New Brunswick) St. Thomas University (also St. Thomas or STU) is a Catholic, English-language liberal arts university located in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. It is a primarily undergraduate university offering bachelor's degrees in the arts (humanities a ...

in 1988 and an Honorary Doctorate of Literature from the

in 1993. While serving as Musicians In Residence at the UNB, Pach founded the Brunswick String Quartet and continued the free Friday noon hour recitals for another 17 years. The BSQ performed, toured, recorded and broadcast across Canada and throughout Eastern USA until 1989. Pach also served as a tone judge for the

Violin Society of America The Violin Society of America (VSA) is an American organization devoted to makers and dealers of violins, violas, and cellos. It is also open to players of these instruments. It was founded in 1973, and formerly based in Poughkeepsie, New York. ...

's 1984 International Competition.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pach, Joseph 1928 births Canadian classical violinists Living people Male classical violinists Musicians from Toronto 20th-century classical violinists 20th-century Canadian male musicians 20th-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers Canadian male violinists and fiddlers