Herman
Mallinger
1930 - 2006
(Written
by daughter and fellow musician, Rosl E. Mallinger)
My father was, and to a considerable degree today,
still is the first music teacher that influenced myself, and my brother, and the
many hundreds of students he taught on various instruments during his lifetime.
He gave his students ranging in age from 4 to 64, a great love of music
through his teaching techniques of practice and patience.
Many students have continued to share this special gift of music with
others in some way or another.
To all those musicians who have had the
opportunity to perform or rehearse with him in his many band ensembles during
his almost 76 years, I wish you a lifetime of musical enrichment that I know he
held so deeply in his heart.
Having been born into a privileged family of music
on April 26, 1930 in Altenberg, Austria, it was soon apparent as to what
direction his life would take. His
music education began at the tender age of 3 on the recorder in Kindergarden.
The violin would follow at the age of 6 and become one of his primary
instruments (also his father’s instrument).
Piano lessons were started at the age of 10 and finally the saxophone and
clarinet were started at age 12. These
wind instruments would also become the other primary instruments that he would
play in various ensembles allowing him to earn a diversified living in the music
profession.
In June of 1955, he immigrated into Canada and
began working in the insurance business in Toronto, Ontario; however, in 1956,
having joined the Military Band of the 48th Highlanders of Canada, he
realized once again it was to be music that would be his lifetime business
venture. He then formed a 4-piece
band playing regularly at the Austrian Club in Toronto and various other ethnic
clubs.
In May of 1962, he married Patricia “the love of
his life” and in 1963 began their long business partnership opening Vienna
House Of Music in Toronto’s High Park area.
A second location was opened on Church St. in the downtown area, but
having two small children, two music stores and gigging three and four nights a
week proved to be a monumental undertaking so the second location was sold
within the second year. Allegro
Music on Toronto’s Avenue Rd. was acquired in 1983, operating both locations
until 1991. In May of 1984, he
joined the Harmonie Brass Showband and in his words, “I enjoyed every minute
of it – the trips to Europe and other road trips were educational in every
aspect”. After 33 years of
operation, he sold Allegro Music in September of 1997 to “retire”, but that
never came to be. He continued to
play, teach and write volumes of arrangements for himself and various other
musicians (his arrangements were all written by hand and he took such pride in
his writing).
On February 3, 2006, he succumbed to a brain
aneurysm that he suffered on January 31st.
I firmly believe, as he would have wanted it, he was teaching a violin
lesson the day before the aneurysm. He
was such a sweet, gentle man who loved every minute of his life and taught his
children to do the same. I miss him
tremendously and am truly blessed to have had him as my father!