John Vincent Pangia

Having lived a long life rich in music, clarinetist and beloved teacher John Vincent Pangia died in early May in Walnut Creek, California. He was 89.

Alongside his wife, Martha, a flutist, John performed in numerous orchestras and musical groups throughout the Bay Area, including the Prometheus Symphony Orchestra, the Aeolus Woodwind Quintet and the Contra Costa Wind Symphony, where he was principal clarinetist for over thirty years and where he met Martha. John was also a pit orchestra musician and played in dozens of musical theater productions. When not in front of an audience, John meticulously transcribed flute duets so that he and Martha could play together at home, which they did nearly every day. John and his wife shared an ineffable connection over music that lasted throughout their marriage.

John was born February 19, 1936, in New York. He grew up on Long Island and began studying music when he was nine. He was greatly influenced by Paul Ricci, a local musician and teacher, who took John under his wing and helped him with performance opportunities, including a TV appearance on The Original Amateur Hour. A graduate of Bayside High School, he honed his talent at Fredonia State College before attending The Juilliard School of Music, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in performance.

For 32 years John was band director for Sayville Long Island Public Schools at the junior and senior high school levels. He inspired generations of musicians in rehearsal rooms and concert halls, sharing his passion for music. While in New York, he performed with the Atlantic Wind Symphony and with many musical theater and opera orchestras. His family enjoyed watching musicals with John playing in the pit, attending concerts around Long Island and taking camping trips in a Viking pop-up camper.

John moved to the Bay Area in 1993, wanting to retire “away from the four seasons.” Though he was a supremely talented professional musician who played flawlessly (and often with little practice), John was humble, self-effacing and easy to be around. He was a good listener, kind and quick-witted with an acerbic sense of humor, always fitting in a one-liner in his signature New York accent that never quite went away. He liked watching sports and became loyal to Bay-Area teams but was a lifelong Yankees fan.

John leaves a collection of more than 500 classical and jazz CDs, hundreds of pages of sheet music and numerous clarinets and saxophones, but few other material things. John’s primary pleasure in life was to play and listen to music.

John is survived by his wife, Martha Rosenberg; his son John J. (Kristen) Pangia; his daughter, Theresa (Todd) Cooke; his son Vincent Pangia; stepsons, Dan (Nancy) Mintz and David (Brianna) Mintz; five grandchildren; and his sister, Maria Pangia.