A native of Buffalo, New York, Fred's first experience with music was at the age of 5, when his father taught him how to read music and play a small accordion.  He found a niche with the clarinet in the fourth grade and added the tenor sax in high school, participating in school ensembles and interscholastic competitions along the way.

  

      Later, music went on hold as he earned degrees from Canisius College, McGeorge School of Law, and Notre Dame Law School.  He also attended Buffalo State College for one year and was a member of the men's bowling team that captured the 1984 National Collegiate Championship.   He later completed a career in law and 20 years of active duty in the US Air Force -- which took him to places around the country and throughout the world.  After retiring from the Air Force (2008), he got back into music and performed regularly with a couple of big bands in the St Louis metropolitan area.   ​

 

     Since 2013, the alto, soprano, and sopranino saxes have been added to the mix, and in 2016 he and his wife (Debbie, a retired USAF nurse) relocated to Rockledge, Florida -- where he has been performing regularly as a soloist at public and private events. 

 

      He started the bass guitar in 2022 and plays soprano sax and bass regularly in his church's music liturgy.  Learning the 5-string banjo is his latest musical endeavor, and he enjoys playing bass and banjo in bluegrass jams.