Tribute

Milan Yancich: Taught Eastman and River Campus Students

Milan Yancich, longtime teacher of horn at the Eastman School and a member of the Rochester Philharmonic, was a wonderful man and a wonderful teacher who, over a period of several decades taught legions of Eastman School and River Campus students. As one of the latter group, I was and am thankful that he never looked down on us because we weren’t music majors and usually didn’t have the ability that the Eastman students did.

Whenever there was a recital or an evening of watching horn films, we were always invited. He hoped we would continue playing as adults and take an active part in community musical life, and I am confident that that proved true in most cases.

It’s ironic that he started his professional career hoping to become successful in the world of orchestral horn playing but will be remembered primarily for his mentoring. After a very promising start with the Columbus and Chicago symphonies and the Cleveland Orchestra, he was reduced by unfortunate circumstances to driving a Chicago taxi by 1953; and then came the opportunity to play with the Rochester Philharmonic and later to teach at Eastman.

Memories of my four years of lessons with him from 1962 to 1966 are still vivid: his isolated studio on the ninth floor of the Swan Street annex; the effective warmup routine he taught me; having me put my hand on his rock-hard diaphragm to illustrate its importance in breathing; the photographs of his esteemed teachers—Adam Lesinsky, Max Pottag, Philip Farkas, and Bohumir Kryl—on the wall; and the poignant afternoon of Nov. 22, 1963, when we started the lesson knowing President Kennedy had been shot and confirmed his death after the half-hour session was over.

Professor Yancich died August 7, 2007, at his home in Lake Placid, N.Y. He was 85.

He is survived by his wife, Paulina White Yancich ’47E, and four children: Nicole, Paul, Mark, and Milan. Paul is the timpanist of the Cleveland Orchestra and Mark is the timpanist of the Atlanta Symphony.

Professor Yancich loved the horn and spent the bulk of his career helping those who also loved it.

—Harrington E. (Kit) Crissey Jr. ’66