Frederick Morden is a conductor, composer, and arranger. His arrangements are performed by advanced and professional orchestras drawn to his effective use of compositional techniques in settings of familiar music. A sampling of the variety of groups who utilize his work would include:
The most popular titles among his original works include:
OF DOGS AND DEER
Frederick Morden has served as Music Director of four orchestras, and guest conductor of The Baltimore Symphony, The Rochester Philharmonic, The Harrisburg Symphony, to name a few. As a music director, he has produced and conducted two operettas, one opera, and one full-length ballet, youth concerts designed especially for elementary school children, and five television programs. He is co-founder of the Altoona Symphony/Mozarteum Piano Competition. He is the founder of "The Youth Apprentice Program" and "The New Music Forum."
In addition to his musical works, Morden has also authored four articles on working and studying with Leonard Bernstein entitled "Facing The Music" and a book "The Well".
Frederick Morden holds degrees from the University of Michigan, University of Maryland, and was certified by the Hochschule fur Muzik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna, Austria. He has studied and performed under the direction of William Hudson, Gustav Meier, Karl Osterreicher, Herbert von Karajan, and Eduard Melkus. He has served on the faculties of The University of Maryland, Gettysburg College, Temple University, and Penn State University.
The most common comment made by conductors about Frederick Morden's work is: "His music connects with everyone! You can't really call some of Fred's arrangements 'arrangements.' They're really 'compositions' based on familiar melodies."
He is a member of the Pennsylvania Orchestra Association, the American Symphony Orchestra League, the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), and a member of the Board of the Conductors Guild.