His beginning was under the direction of Frederick Buch, a noted instrumentalist of his time.
"Sixty Years of California Song"
Margaret Blake-Alverson
Then, while an instrumentalist, who seemed to have a grudge against the piano, was hammering out the opening bars of a march, Joe's attention was attracted by a woman entering the room, and from that moment he heard no more of the concert.
"The Sport of the Gods"
Paul Laurence Dunbar
But why should either of these two factors be less essential to a singer than to an instrumentalist?
"Style in Singing"
W. E. Haslam