Henri Verbrugghen (1873-1934), a Belgian violinist and conductor, established his career in Scotland, where he was a member of the Scottish Orchestra beginning in 1893 and taught violin at the Athenaeum in Glasgow. In 1915, he was appointed director of a music conservatory in Sydney, Australia, and spent six years building its music program and establishing an orchestra. He moved to the United States in 1921 for health reasons. He made a successful guest appearance with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra and was appointed conductor in 1923.

In fall 1931, Verbrugghen had a stroke while conducting, and when it became clear he was facing a long recuperation, Verna Golden Scott, manager of the Minneapolis Symphony, called Arthur Judson for help in finding someone to take over temporarily for Verbrugghen. Scott had already learned of Ormandy through the reviews of his concerts with the Philadelphia Orchestra when he was substituting for Toscanini. Judson and Scott quickly arranged a trial period for him with the orchestra.