Fred Sturm

Fred Sturm directed the Jazz and Improvisational Music program at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Appleton (WI). He served as; principal guest conductor of the Hessischer Rundfunk (German Public Radio for the State of Hessen) Big Band in Frankfurt and as visiting conductor of professional jazz ensembles and radio orchestras in Europe; as director of university jazz ensembles and high school all-state jazz bands throughout the U.S.; as a clinician at national educational conferences and festivals; and as composer-in-residence for school and university music programs. From 1991-2002, he taught jazz composition and conducted the renowned Jazz Ensemble and 70-piece Studio orchestra at the Eastman School of Music.

Fred’s jazz compositions and arrangements have been performed by Bobby McFerrin, Wynton Marsalis, Bob Brookmeyer, Clark Terry, Phil Woods, and Dianne Reeves. He received the 2003 ASCAP/IAJE Commission In Honor of Quincy Jones and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Meet the Composer, the Howard Hanson Institute for American Music, and the Lila Wallace Reader’s Digest Fund.