William Vacchiano (May 23, 1912 – September 19, 2005) was a trumpeter and

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

instructor. Originally from

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

, Vacchiano studied trumpet at age 12. At 14 years old, he was playing in the Portland Symphony. For five years (1930-1935), he studied under

Max Schlossberg Max Schlossberg (5 November 1873 – 23 September 1936) was a Jewish- Baltic trumpeter, conductor, composer, and teacher. His legacy is a large number of successful trumpet students and the method book, ''Daily Drills and Technical Studies''. Li ...

at the latter's studio in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. He joined the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

in 1935 as third/assistant principal trumpet and appointed principal trumpet in 1942 by

Bruno Walter Bruno Walter (born Bruno Schlesinger, September 15, 1876February 17, 1962) was a German-born conductor, pianist and composer. Born in Berlin, he escaped Nazi Germany in 1933, was naturalised as a French citizen in 1938, and settled in the Un ...

. He taught at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

for 67 years (1935-2002). He was also a professor at the

Mannes College of Music Mannes School of Music is a music conservatory in The New School, a private research university in New York City. In the fall of 2015, Mannes moved from its previous location on Manhattan's Upper West Side to join the rest of the New School cam ...

from 1937–83 and the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

from 1935-2002. His students included

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Awar ...

, Philip Smith,

Charles Schlueter Charles Schlueter, born in Du Quoin, Illinois, is the retired principal trumpeter of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Schlueter studied with William Vacchiano at the Juilliard School. Prior to his 25 years as principal of the BSO, he also held p ...

Gerard Schwarz Gerard Schwarz (born August 19, 1947), also known as Gerry Schwarz or Jerry Schwarz, is an American symphony conductor and trumpeter. As of 2019, Schwarz serves as the Artistic and Music Director of Palm Beach Symphony and the Director of Orche ...

Manny Laureano Manny Laureano (born August 17, 1955) is an American trumpet player and conductor. He is currently the Principal trumpet of the Minnesota Orchestra,. Laureano began his musical studies in the New York City public school system and received his ...

, and

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

. His obituary in

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

quoted him saying: :''"This, to me, is happiness. When I feel bad I go down to the studio in my house, I pick up my horn and I'm in seventh heaven. That's what music should be like."''

References

Biography
from Juilliard.
A Miles Davis Website
*

External links

at International Trumpet Guild.

about Bill Vacchiano by Dorothy Chansky. 1912 births 2005 deaths American classical trumpeters American male trumpeters Juilliard School faculty Manhattan School of Music faculty Musicians from Portland, Maine 20th-century American musicians 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century trumpeters 20th-century American male musicians {{US-trumpeter-stub