Histories

WALTER LAURSEN

It was my good fortune to have had some great teachers. The first one was Walt Laursen. I was fourteen years old and had won a PTA scholarship for trumpet lessons. He has been a wonderful influence on my life, musically and personally. I will always be indebted to him for the example he set for me and his generosity and support throughout the last forty-two years.


Walter Laresen was born in Pasadena, California in 1920. His first teacher was Charles Dana, first trumpet of the Pasadena Symphony. He went on to study with Herbert L. Clarke, Vladimier Drucker, Hy Lammers and FLoyd Hoose. s been said that "......William Vacchiano has passed along his craft to enough trumpet players to populate a small city". He began professional teaching in 1935 and has been teaching continuously in New York for over sixty years. He has been on the faculty of The Julliard School and the Manhattan School of Music since 1936. He was also on the faculty of the Mannes College of Music from 1937-1983. In addition, he always found time to teach private students at his home.

Mr. Laursen performed in many bands and orchestras under such conductors as Sergei Rachmaninoff, Jose Iturbi, Meridith Willson, Kurt Adler, Eugene Ormandy, Albert Coates, Francesco Molinari-Pradelli, and Richard Lert. He performed with the Pasadena Symphony (1934-1964), Pasadena Back Society (1938-1942), U.S. Army Ground Forces Band (1942-1946), Carmel Bach Festival (1953-1958), San Francisco Opera in Los Angeles (1959-1971), Pasadena Opera, Los Angeles City Concert Band (solo cornet 1960-1980), Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, and Joe Venuti at the Casino Gardens ballroom. He was, for many years, the musical director of the Sierra Madre Concert Band.

Walter Laursen has been on the faculty at the University of Southern California, California State University at Los Angeles, Western State College at Gunnison, Colorado Music Comp, San Marino Schools, and the Pasadena Nazarene College. He taught privately at his Walter R. Laursen Studio of Trumpet in Pasadena, California from 1952 to 1986.

For many years he was an inspiration and role model for scores of young men at the Pasadena Boy's Club. He was a teacher and musical director of the award winning Pasadena Boy's Club Band and Dance Band. The band featured such guest soloists as Rafael Mendez and Leonard B. Smith. Many of Laursen's students have gone on to successful careers in orchestras, bands, recording studios and teaching.

Walter and his wife Jan are very dedicated people and in their retirement they have been helping local children with reading and writing as volunteer teachers.