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Vincent Bach, formerly 1st Trumpeter, Boston Symphony Orchestra and Diaghilev Ballet Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera House, New York, manufacturer of America’s finest brass instruments.

As an artist, musician, engineer, and manufacturer, Vincent Bach is eminently qualified to speak on all subjects. His career began at six years of age when he played the violin and bugle. He developed a good embouchure and, when he was 14, he took trumpet lessons from the First Trumpeter of the Vienna Tonkunstler Orchestra, George Stellwagen, one of the greatest cornet virtuosos of Europe.  He later studied with the First Trumpeter of the Vienna Opera House, and at the same time studied mechanical engineering, which was to be his main profession. After graduating from the Engineering College at Wienter-Nuestadt, Austria, he served as Officer of Engineering in the Austrian Navy. At the conclusion of his military service, he became a construction engineer in an elevator factory at Vienna, but solo work earned him so much more than he received as an engineer, he finally gave up engineering and went on a concert tour.  He concertized in Australia, Germany, England, Denmark, Sweden, Russia, etc., and right after the outbreak of World War I, he came to the United States. A few days after his arrival, he was engaged as First Trumpeter of the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the leadership of Dr. Karl Muck. The following season, he appeared as a soloist — throughout the summer of 1915 — at the San Francisco Exposition, then he came to New York to play first trumpet with the famous Russian Diaghilev Ballet, playing at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York.  He also went on tour as cornet soloist throughout the leading cities of the United States.

In 1917, when America entered the First World War, Mr. Bach became Bandmaster of the 306th Field Artillery Regiment. At the conclusion of his military service, he played as a soloist in various New York Theatres (Rivoli, Capitol, and Rialto) and during this period, he opened a small shop, at first for the sole purpose of making mouthpieces for his own needs.  However, when musicians heard him play the “high F” several times during his solos, they wanted to know what mouthpiece he was using, and they begged him to make a duplicate mouthpiece for themselves.

Without any intention of becoming a businessman, Vincent Bach was more or less forced into the manufacturing of mouthpieces, and the little shop grew at such a rapid pace that he had to give up his theatre work.

During 1924, he started to manufacture of trumpets and cornets, and some of the first instruments he made are still in use and are highly treasured by their owners.  To date, the Bach factory has produced more than 3,000,000 mouthpieces for brass instruments and a complete line of trumpets and trombones in numerous bores, pitch, and designs.

The curriculum of European colleges prescribes a thorough study of physics in engineering courses, including acoustics, and this schooling proved very valuable to Vincent Bach.  He also keeps abreast of current acoustical progress through his various memberships in various acoustical societies.  He is considered to be the outstanding expert on brass instruments of our time.