About Frederick Fennell
Frederick Fennell was an American conductor and one of the primary figures who promoted the Eastman Wind Ensemble as a performing group. He was also influential as a band pedagogue, and greatly affected the field of music education in the US and abroad. In Fennell's New York Times obituary, colleague Jerry F. Junkin was quoted as saying "He was arguably the most famous band conductor since John Philip Sousa." Fennell became the first person to whom the Eastman School of Music awarded a degree in percussion performance. He owned his first drum set at age ten. As a student, he organized the first University of Rochester marching band for the football team and held indoor concerts with the band after the football season for ten years.
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