Thing is, Wachs has a habit of disappearing. You can’t blame him, though, considering that he is also the Assistant Conductor of the Orchestre National de France in Paris and the Assistant Conductor and Repetiteur for the Cincinnati Opera, to name only a couple of his other endeavors that take him far away from California. He does more traveling in a year than some people do in their entire lives.
So why is he at Chapman?

“There’s something wonderfully stimulating about being around students,” he said. “The professional world isn’t always pleasant.”

His actual title at Chapman is music director and director of instrumental studies. Which puts him in touch with students day and night --- when he’s here.

Born in Israel, Wachs grew up in a home where one thing was permanent – the radio. With a father in the hotel business, he moved around a lot. His parents were music lovers, so he fell victim to the art as soon as he could hear. But he really got his start at four or five years old, when he received his first instrument.

It was a two foot high piano with only two octaves, which now sits in his office at Chapman. It is obvious that time has touched it. The wood is growing dull, the keys have lost whatever shine they once had, and it’s certainly too small for its owner to play. But for Wachs, its value will never fade.

“I would sit around and just bang on that thing for hours and hours,” he said.