Schertzinger was born in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, the child of musical parents of Pennsylvania DutchGerman decent, and immediately attracted attention as a violinprodigy at the age of four. As a child of eight, he appeared as a violinist with several orchestras, including the Victor Herbert Orchestra and the John Philip Sousa band. In his teens, he attended the Brown Preparatory School in Philadelphia, and gave violin performances while touring America and Europe.