COMMERCE, Texas -- The opportunity to meet the trailblazer who has most impacted your field of work does not happen very often.
But it did for Texas A&M University-Commerce music students Brett Richardson and Reagan Brumley when they met the renowned maestro Frederick Fennell during a recent conducting symposium.
Richardson and Brumley were selected to participate in symposia held at Baylor University in December and at Louisiana State University in January. More than 80 highly qualified music students applied for this honor.
To them, however, the top honor was a personal critique from Fennell himself after they directed the Baylor University Wind Ensemble.
Fennell, the two graduate students explained, is widely regarded as the leader of the wind ensemble movement in the United States. He encouraged composers to write music specifically for bands so the ensembles would no longer have to rely on adapted orchestra music.
"We refer to him as the godfather of bands everywhere," Richardson said. "I actually got to accompany him and his wife to the Dr Pepper Museum (in Waco) where they tried their first Dr Pepper."
Fennell lives in a northern state in the U.S.
Brumley noted that composers such as John Williams, who is known for his work in movies such as "Star Wars," "Indiana Jones" and "Jaws," were inspired to write music for band ensembles through the movement credited to Fennell. "We kind of take for granted that some really fine composer wrote something for band, but it wouldn't have happened before this guy," Brumley said.
In addition to Fennell, the student conductors met band directors from the University of North Texas, Texas Christian University and many high schools. They also participated in workshops and conducted the wind ensemble bands at Baylor and LSU.
At A&M-Commerce, they are majoring in music performance with an emphasis on conducting. The new degree prepares graduates to teach at the university level in addition to public schools.
Both students came to A&M-Commerce specifically for the program and because they were impressed with the work of Brad Kent, who is director of bands at the university. "He is a great teacher," Brumley said.
Kent has been encouraging the two students to take part in professional activities and tells them, Richardson added, "If you're doing good work, then get out and show it."
Richardson and Brumley are proud to be the first conducting students at A&M-Commerce to participate in something of this magnitude. "By having students get out and show what we're doing in other parts of the country, we'll expose the program," Brumley related.
Richardson hails from the Houston suburb Jersey Village and received his bachelor's degree from Stephen F. Austin University
Brumley of Harlingen earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Brownsville and currently lives in Rockwall with his wife, who attends medical school in the Dallas metroplex.
