Ray Bloch was born in the United States of emigrants from Alsace-Lorraine. His father was a chef who encouraged his musical ambitions. He started singing in choirs at the age of eight and at the age of twelve, conducted his first chorus at a Christmas festival. This led to a lifelong profession of choral group conducting.
His first important employment was as a piano player for a leading music publisher. In the early 1920s he played with ballroom bands in New...