William Vacchiano was a trumpet legend. In his prime he had so much work thathe had assistants whose sole job was to hail him cabs and get him and his instruments in atimely manner from performance to performance. In addition to his 31 years as principal trumpet with the New York Philharmonic, his concert career and his lineof mouthpieces, and perhaps why he is as beloved as he is respected, he was a dedicated teacher turning out generations of successful working musicians.