Last Stop, Carnegie Hall: New York Philharmonic Trumpeter William Vacchiano

Chapter 1: Biography

3 chapter one Biography F Family History William anthony Vacchiano was born on May 23, 1912, in portland , Maine, the seventh of eight children to rafaello and anna Vacchiano . of his seven siblings, Vacchiano had five older sisters, one older brother,and one younger brother.The two oldest sisters,Mary and Margarita , were born in italy before their parents immigrated to the United states from their hometown of Cicciano, italy. Vacchiano’s father, rafaello , was trained as a metal worker after serving as a member of the King’s guard.1 eventually, rafaello sailed for america where he hoped to find more financial stability and a better life for his family. Many immigrants had various family members already living in america, which made the move and transition easier. it was no different for rafaello. When he arrived at ellis island, he was greeted by his two brothers, Megucia and pasquale.2 rafaello Vacchiano found a place to live on atlantic avenue in Brooklyn and began working there as a grocer.a year later,after enough money had been saved,he was able to pay for his wife and two daughters to move to america. This trip was more difficult than the usual transatlantic crossing, for the ship, the Ravelli, developed rudder problems and was forced to dock in order to make the appropriate repairs. it took almost a month for parts to arrive and repairs to be made. passengers 4 Last stop, Carnegie HaLL carried most of their own food and provisions, and few were prepared for this extra month of travel.When Vacchiano’s mother and two sisters finally arrived they vowed never to set foot on a ship again. During the next several years, the Vacchiano family lived in Brooklyn where Vacchiano ’s three older sisters were born: anna, Frances, and nancy.3 around 1909, the Vacchianos moved to portland, Maine, where many friends from italy were living. Vacchiano and his two brothers, Milo and Dominic, were born in portland. Vacchiano vividly remembered this community where he grew up: “The sector of the city where we lived was like a part of italy carved out and planted in portland. all the customs, language, churches, and stores were strictly italian. My father was an ardent fisherman and was very happy with the move. My mother was also content because most of her neighbors were from italy.”4 Early Studies and Performances in Portland and Boston Vacchiano’s father recognized William’s love of music when he was just a little boy. as early as age six, rafaello took him to the portland City Hall auditorium to hear music.The first live performance he heard was Verdi’s La Traviata, and he was thrilled with the sights and sounds that surrounded him.5 The pervasiveness of the italian culture in portland exposed Vacchiano to a rich musical environment, serving as a catalyst to his career as a musician. Vacchiano claimed that his career started by accident: My family lived in a house that was at the bottom of a very steep hill in portland. i used to ride home from school on a bicycle without brakes, which meant i had to meander from side to side; otherwise i would have landed in the ocean that was close to my house! one day, a schoolmate and neighbor of mine, Louis Bennett, was carrying a baritone horn and got caught in my path. after i crashed into him, we realized i had 5 BiograpHY put a small dent in his horn and we both were terrified. i didn’t know at the time that the dent could be removed with a drumstick , since brass is very soft. We both panicked and went to the teacher, Mr. Dinobile, to explain the dent. at the time, we were about eight or nine years of age, so we didn’t understand how much it would cost to fix the horn. We thought we were in serious trouble. Mr. Dinobile was recruiting local youngsters for his band and he asked me if i would like to play an instrument . i grabbed the opportunity to get out of the scrape and said, “Yes!”6 Vacchiano continued: Mr. Dinobile’s teaching was very italian. This method meant one year of solfège before starting on an instrument. i had five fifteen-minute lessons every day after school. after one year of rigorous study, he told me...