During a performance in January 1934, Falcone suddenly lost the hearing in his right ear, leaving him totally deaf. His brother, Leonard, was by then the Director of the Michigan State University Varsity Band. At Nicholas' request, Leonard also assumed Nicholas' duties at the University of Michigan while Nicholas took a medical leave of absence to seek treatment. Day-to-day management of the band was delegated to student leaders. This arrangement, approved by the University of Michigan, continued from January through June 1934. By the fall of that year, one of those student leaders, Bernard Hirsch, was appointed Acting Conductor and correspondingly provided a small salary.
