wiseone2

How much courage do you think it took to have a trumpet black student in 1945 at Juilliard? There were no black musicians in any american orchestra, so why waste time with a student who could not find work. Forget a solo career, no trumpet player had one!
William Vacchiano had the courage to accept Miles Dewey Davis as a student in 1945.

Twenty five years later, I had relocated to NYC from Baltimore. I had been the first black musician employed by the Baltimore Symphony. I came to NYC in the fall of 1970. I met Mr Vacchiano many times at Peppy's and we were always the best of buddies. He was a super nice guy.
The NY Philharmonic had come under fire for it's hiring practices. Bill Vacchiano invited me to play for him, even though he knew my playing, to get on the sub list. I played for him....I was immediately on the list.

My most memorable experience was a three week period playing extra with the orchestra. We played the Mahler 6th Symphony the first week. I played the 5th trumpet part in this perfomance. John Ware had a boo-boo on his lip and played 6th trumpet. Lots of solos in the 5th parts, I will never forget Bill Vacchiano beaming like a proud parent at me.
That was to be his last year with the Philharmonic.

William Vacchiano will always be my hero.
Wilmer