Prof. Katzenbach was born in the city of Freimersheim, Germany, 1834.
He came to America at the age of sixteen. He again returned to Germany
when twenty years old and studied in Mainz, under Prof. E. Paner and
Thopelus Syfert. His first position as organist was in the city of
Schwabsburgh, Germany, at the age of twelve years, a position he held
until he came to America, four years later. In the seventies he was in
San Francisco. His first position as organist was at the Howard Street
Methodist Church. Later he went to the First Presbyterian Church in
Van Ness avenue, and in 1874 he was organist for St. John's Church in
Post street, Dr. Scott, pastor. The choir was composed of Mrs. Robert
Moore, soprano; Mrs. M.R. Blake, contralto; Joseph Maguire, tenor, and
Cornelius Makin, bass. From 1870 to 1873 he taught piano at Mills
seminary. During this time his wife passed out of life and he was left
with one daughter and three sons. He grieved so much at his loss that
he gave up his position and went East, but his love for California was
too strong and he returned in 1875. He took up his musical profession
once more and for a while was organist at Calvary Presbyterian Church,
Rev. John Hemphill, pastor. The choir consisted of Mrs. Van Brunt,
soprano; Mrs. M. Blake, contralto; Cornelius Makin, bass, and John
Trehane, tenor. Later he moved to Oakland and played in the First
Unitarian Church in Castro street. Some years after that he had an
organ at St. Paul's Church in Harrison street. For thirty-five years
he was engaged in the churches and teaching piano, and taught many
fine players in San Francisco, Oakland and other places. He never had
gotten over the loss of his dear wife, and it unfortunately saddened
his life, for she was indeed a perfect mother in her family. His
daughter, Miss Elizabeth, was the image of her mother and was his
constant thought, and his ambition was to have her life guided into
the same channel of perfect womanhood. He began early with her
education in music and taught her until she had grown to womanhood,
and for a number of years before his death she taught with him in his
studio in Tenth street in West Oakland. Some time in the eighties he
desired his daughter to have a little instruction in the old-world
music centers. In 1903 she journeyed to Munich, Germany, and studied
for three years with Heinrich Schwartz. In 1906 she returned to
California and expected to meet her father at the station, but he was
taken suddenly ill and died shortly after from a nervous breakdown.
His daughter returned just two days after he died, doubly bereaved, as
he had been father and mother to her and her brothers since she was a
child of three years. After many months she took up her music once
more, where she had necessarily laid it down during her days of
mourning. She is busy always and is now one of our foremost teachers
of piano, and faithfully and successfully follows in the footsteps of
her honored father.