Abe Torchinsky, a native of Philadelphia began playing tuba in a Boy Scout band. In 1935 he began taking lessons with a young student at the Curtis Institute of Music named Arnold Jacobs. By the time he was in high school, he was performing professionally on tuba and bass, even playing with Isham Jones Orchestra.
He enrolled at the Curtis Institute of Music in 1940 and studied with Philip Donatelli, the tubist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, until the beginning of World War II. Mr. Torchinsky played in the Southern Symphony Orchestra and with the National Symphony Orchestra for one season (1942-1943). He then moved to New York City for concentrated study with William J. Bell.
He performed in the original cast productions of Billy Rose's Seven Lively Arts, and Rogers and Hammerstein's Carousel and Allegro, and was in the cast of the movie Carnegie Hall. He performed with the Cities Service Band of America under Paul LaValle, and the NBC Symphony with Arturo Toscanini (1946-1949). Torchinsky joined the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1949, and served as principal tuba until 1972. Mr. Torchinsky and trombonist Henry Charles Smith hosted a radio program about the Philadelphia orchestra. After retiring from the Philadelphia Orchestra, Torchinsky became a member of the faculty of The University of Michigan (1972-1989).