Vincent Persichetti was born in Philadelphia and began piano lessons when he was five. At the age of nine he enrolled in college Music Theory courses and at 14 gave his first recital of his own compositions. He played tuba and double bass. He received his Master's degree from the Philadelphia Conservatory at age 25 and subsequently taught at.the Juilliard School of Music in New York City; among his students were Philip Glass and Peter Schickele (P.D.Q. Bach). Persichetti described his music as "having a combination of 'grit' and 'grazioso'." He wrote at least 175 compositions and many important works for Concert Band.