[1] Mensch studied bass with former New York Philharmonic principal bassist Anselme Fortier at the Manhattan School of Music.
As a teenager, he played with the Dick Messner Big Band at the Hotel McAlpin in order to pay for his bass lessons.
"[1] Mensch joined the Pittsburgh Symphony in 1932 after winning the audition on the stage of Carnegie Hall in front of Otto Klemperer.
He subsequently performed with the NBC Symphony under Arturo Toscanini and played in numerous television and radio shows.
He joined the Manhattan School of Music faculty in 1980 and received MSM's Presidential Medal for Distinguished Service in May 2005.