Howard Music Professor Designated Lowell Mason Fellow

WASHINGTON (July 16, 2010) – The National Association for Music Education (MENC) recently announced that Fred Irby, III, professor of Music, director of Howard University Jazz Ensemble, was designated as one of the five Lowell Mason Fellows for 2009.

The fellowship honors Lowell Mason who is credited with introducing music instruction to American public schools and establishing teacher training in music education. The fellows are being recognized as outstanding music educators and advocates.They have furthered the Association’s mission of music education for all.

Also recognized as fellows are Michael Bates, senior manager, Institutional Solutions Group, Yamaha Corporation of America; Jere W. Fridy, music educator and director of numerous school, military, and community bands; Douglas W. Herbert, special assistant to the assistant deputy secretary of Innovation and Improvement, U.S. Dept. of Education; and Randolph F. Kummer, former executive director of Illinois Music Educators Association, music educator and music department chair at Lincoln-Way High School.

The honorees were formally recognized at a ceremony in Washington, DC on June 27 during MENC’s 2010 Music Education Week. For more information, visit www.menc.org.

Fred Irby, III, is a graduate of Grambling State University, (Louisiana) and Southern Illinois University (Edwardsville). As Professor of Music at Howard University Mr. Irby is the coordinator of instrumental music, trumpet instructor, and director of the internationally acclaimed Howard University Jazz Ensemble (HUJE), which he founded in 1975. The Ensemble has given outstanding performances in the United States, Europe, South America, Asia, and the Caribbean and is recognized as one of the foremost college jazz ensembles. Mr. Irby is also principal trumpet of the Kennedy Center Opera House Musical Theater Orchestra and has recorded several films for the History Channel.