Joseph Pach (born January 8, 1928, in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

) is a Canadian

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

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 (musician), Edwar ...

from 1933 to 1945, 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 university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. 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. The concerto was composed in Clarens, Switzerland, where Tchaikovsky w ...

(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 Toron ...

. 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. The NAC Orchestra's primary concert venue is Southam Hall at the National Arts Centre. Since its inception, the Orchestra has commissioned more ...

, 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 sym ...

, 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. ...

for a CBC broadcast. At the last minute Bernardi couldn't make it and the producer asked Pach if he'd mind if a young woman filled in for Bernardi. Pach conceded. In 1954, he married that pianist Arlene Nimmons (Pach), sister of

Phil Nimmons Phillip Rista Nimmons (June 3, 1923 – April 5, 2024) was a Canadian jazz clarinetist, composer, bandleader, and educator. Nimmons played "free jazz" and mainstream styles, and other genres including classical music. He composed more than 400 ...

, 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, English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universiti ...

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

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River (Bay of Fundy), Saint John River, ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, 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 college, liberal arts university located in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. It is a primarily Undergraduate education, undergraduate university offer ...

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 by Herbert Goodkind and others, and formerly based ...

's 1984 International Competition.

References

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