Meet Fred

Fred Gunn has enjoyed a life of immersing himself in all things music. Born on Fort Campbell

Army Base and moving around with military parents, Fred has a diverse background in musical

abilities and tastes. He grew up in the Indianapolis area and graduated from Lawrence North

High School. He gained experience in music performance and music education skills while attending Central State University and Ball State University. He was involved with several performance bands over his years, including the New World Symphony Orchestra, All-State Honor Bands, Ball State Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble, and The University Singers Band. He is also known to have quite the stage presence as “DJ Wasabio,” named after his 5-year-old daughter’s chef’s kiss phrase. He was also involved in several stage bands over the years, one of which was featured in a past NBA All-Star Game commercial with Paul George.

Although music performance is a big part of Fred’s life, music education and empowering young musicians have been his passion. He has been involved with a marching band program for many consecutive years dating back to 2008 (except 2020). He has worked with several high school marching band programs including Monroe Central Jr/Sr High School, Hagerstown Jr/Sr High School, Trotwood-Madison High School, and Lawrence North High School. Fred has seven Class A Championships as the former Assistant Director for the Monroe Central Golden Bear Marching Band in Farmland, IN.

He has had the opportunity to connect with many musicians across the IN and OH area and has experience in teaching private lessons. He specializes in tube/sousaphone, euphonium, and trombone but has experience with nearly all wind and percussion instruments. Fred’s teaching philosophy is to motivate each student to be inspired from within themselves and give them the tools and confidence to be successful.