Personal History

Joseph DiTullio was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 4, 1907. His grandfather, Guistino DiTullio, was a clarinetist in Italy and the US. In 1914 his family moved to Los Angeles. Shortly after their arrival he began his musical studies, first on the violin and then on the cello. His teachers were some of the finest, including Andre Maquarre, conductor of the Boston Pops; Ilya Bronson, first cellist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic; and Emanuel Feuermann. As teenagers, Joseph along with his younger brothers Adolph (a violinist) and Mario (a pianist) formed the DiTullio Trio. When Joseph was 17, along with his younger brother Adolph, and three others, made one of the first coast-to-coast radio broadcasts. For one year the Trio was under contract with one of the major west coast radio stations, presenting a one-hour concert each evening. At

A native of Los Angeles, from a family of musicians, Justin studied cello with Ilya Bronson, Lauri Kennedy and Bronislaw Borisoff, all first cellists of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He also studied for two summers with the famous cellist, Emanuel Feuermann. He joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra when only 19; one of the youngest members ever selected. He remained with the orchestra until joining the Navy, where he served from 1942-45. While in service he was picked to perform with string quartet on the cruiser Augusta, accompanying President Truman to Potsdam and on other secret missions along with Sir Winston Churchill. Returning from the Navy, Justin was under contract to the Society of Motion Picture Producers orchestra until 1949. In 1951 he joined the NBC staff orchestra, and later free-lanced extensively in all types of motion-picture and television recording

Her playing was heard nightly on television in shows such as: Gunsmoke, Hawaii Five-O, Little House on the Prairie, The Waltons and Dallas.  The list of film composers with whom she has collaborated includes the most distinguished names in music today. Composer John Williams, arguably the most honored film composer in history, refers to Ms. DiTullio as being “in the very front rank among the world’s great flutists”.  Her playing can be heard on the albums of recording stars Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett, Kenny G and Michael Jackson.  She has performed on numerous classical recordings ranging from chamber music to a concerto album with the English Chamber Orchestra.  Ms. DiTullio was the recipient of the “Most Valuable Player” award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for the years 1975-1978 and received the Emeritus Award in 1980. While continuing her busy recording career,

Kurt Reher was born in Hamburg, Germany, of a musical family that moved to Los Angeles when he was one. Kurt began taking violin lessons in New York at an early age, then switched to cello at the age of eight so that he could form a piano quartet with his violinist father, pianist mother and violist and older brother Sven. He spent three years at the Berlin Academy studying with Emanuel Feuermann and when in 1931 the Rehers returned to Los Angeles, Kurt began his career as a professional musician. In 1934 Otto Klemperer invited him to join the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and ten years later, he was appointed the orchestra’s principal cellist by music director Alfred Wallenstein. From 1946 to 1958, Kurt was first cellist at 20th Century-Fox studios where Alfred Newman and many other composers wrote cello

Virginia DiTullio Royer was a cum laude graduate of Occidental College. Here principal piano studies were with Alex Karnback, then pianist for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and her uncle, Mario DiTullio, who studied in Germany with Karl Leimer, a renown teacher who taught Walter Geiseking. Her early training included years of experience in accompanying the students of her father’s cello class, an occupation she continued throughout her father’s life. She was considered an expert accompanist of the cello literature, including some accompanying for Gregor Piatigorsky’s cello class at USC. She also accompanied her uncle, Kurt Reher, principal cellist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She was also an expert accompanist of the flute, having frequently appeared in recitals with her sister Louise DiTullio. Virginia began her career performing recitals with her father, Joseph DiTullio, and soon after with her father and