|
Date 3-29-06
Contact Angela Kilcrease 601.266.4988
Hattiesburg—Thomas
V. Fraschillo, professor of music and director of bands at the University
of Southern Mississippi, has been elected president of America’s
most prestigious organization for band directors, The American Bandmasters
Association (ABA), at its annual convention March 1-5 in Dallas,
Texas.
Membership in
the ABA is by invitation only, and presidents are chosen by past
presidents only; therefore, this honor is singular among its members.
Fraschillo was
invited to become a member in 1988. “The process was long and tedious
as the election committee places much scrutiny upon its potential
candidates,” Fraschillo said. “But, the experience was one of the
most rewarding aspects of my career as a conductor and music educator.”
Even more unique
to his election is that there has never been a national president
selected from Mississippi, and Fraschillo is only the second officer
to be selected from a southern state in the organization’s long
history.
“Dr. Fraschillo’s
election to president of the ABA is an indication of his esteemed
reputation among bandmasters the world over,” said Dr. Charles Elliott,
director of the School of Music at Southern Miss. “The entire university
should take great pride in his accomplishment.”
Past presidents
of the ABA have included such notable Americans as John Philip Sousa,
Edwin Franko Goldman, Karl King, and Col. John R. Bourgeois, former
commander/conductor of the United States Marine Band, “The President’s
Own.”
The mission
of the ABA, as envisioned by Goldman some 68 years ago, is carried
out today by a distinguished and committed group of bandleaders
and associates from the United States and Canada.
“It has been
quite a remarkable experience to be a part of the great history
of this group,” said Fraschillo, who now holds the same gavel held
by Sousa. “Many of our members are in their 80s and 90s and have
devoted a lifetime to their profession, to music. They have made
the educational process attainable for young musicians across the
United States and Canada and are major contributors to the cultural
and musical fiber of our country.”
Membership in
this elite group of bandmasters has afforded Fraschillo, by reputation,
many opportunities to conduct and lecture throughout the world.
His election to highest office in this organization brings national
status and respect in the ranks of conductors of bands to Mississippi
and to Southern Miss.
“In 1998, we
brought the national convention to Mississippi,” Fraschillo said.
“Since most of the members of the organization had never been to
Mississippi, it was an opportunity to show them what great things
Southern Miss has to offer and the many wonderful things that the
South has to offer.”
As the president,
Fraschillo’s first obligation will be to organize the 2007 national
convention at San Luis Obispo, Calif., where he will preside.
According to
Dr. Steven Moser, associate dean of the College of Arts and Letters,
Fraschillo has made a significant impact on music, not only in this
country, but in Europe and Australia as well, where Fraschillo’s
expertise in conducting in renowned.
“In every instance,
his (Fraschillo) accomplishments embody the quality of instrumental
offerings in our School of Music,” Moser said. “Every time he steps
in front of youngsters at a workshop or clinic or in front of today’s
professional bandsmen across the world, Dr. Fraschillo brings with
him the Southern Miss band program’s educational quality and tradition.
He personifies what we are doing here at Southern Miss wherever
he goes.”
Jamie Standland,
a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate who studies with Fraschillo,
has known his teacher for more than 20 years and agrees with Moser.
“Throughout this time, I have never known him to strive for or expect
anything but excellence in all that he does and from who he teaches.
“I believe he
is most deserving of the highest honor bestowed upon any instrumental
conductor—the presidency of the American Bandmasters Association.”
Click to enlarge
Dr. Thomas Fraschillo
| 
