You have to read the Dallas Wind Symphony's biography of Dr. Fennell to even begin to understand what an impact he had on symphonic wind music in the past century, not just in this country, but around the world. He was a giant in the field, showing the greatest musical minds of our time, as well as snot-nosed kids like me, that beautiful, deep music does not require a string section.

His work on the music of Grainger, Holst, and even Sousa with the Eastman Wind Ensemble (which he founded, by the way), the Cleveland Winds, the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra (which he also founded), and finally the Dallas Wind Symphony will open eyes, ears, and minds for decades to come. Dr. Fennell pioneered the idea that maybe, even in a band, one player per part was enough.

I didn't always agree with the man's interpretations of things (3rd movement, Lincolnshire Posy, bass clarinet solo, second phrase - Fennell's full-score revision changed the note from an F Concert to a G, and it should have remained an F, dangit), but it's impossible to even imagine what symphonic wind music would have been like without him, or even if we would call it by that name. There's still a ways to go: the New York Times notes his passing, but calls him an "innovative band conductor."

For more, or just to humor me, spend 15 minutes listening to NPR's remembrance, where Performance Today host Fred Childs talks with Jerry Junkin, director of the University of Texas Wind Ensemble, and artistic director and conductor of the Dallas Wind Symphony, where Fennell ended his career as Principal Guest Conductor. It's 15 minutes you'll want to spend, with good examples of Fennell on the podium and old interviews with the man himself. The excerpts of Folk Song Suite alone are enough to make me break out iTunes and cry. (You'll need to open the file in RealOne Player, not in QuickTime or other ".smil" capable programs, because it uses RealAudio encoding.)

The Times notes that the news circulated in an E-mail from Fennell's daughter, Cathy Fennell Martensen:

In her e-mail message, Ms. Martensen recounted that on his deathbed Mr. Fennell said, "I cannot die without a drummer." She added that his last words were: "I hear him. I'm O.K. now."

I pray he is. The rest of us are a little poorer from now on.