He is currently the principal trombone of the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra and professor at the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music. Prior to his appointment with the Puerto Rico Symphony, he served as principal trombonist with the both the Madrid and Seville Symphony Orchestras in Spain, and tenor trombonist with the Springfield Symphony in Massachusetts. He has collaborated with orchestras and conductors of international caliber such as: Kurt Masur, Charles Dutoit, Eiji Oue with the New York Philharmonic; Esa-Pekka Salonnen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic; Christoph Eschenbach and the Houston Symphony Orchestra; and Michael Tilson Thomas with the Pacific Music Festival in Japan.
Mr. Fred maintains an active calendar of recitals, lectures, chamber concerts and master classes. Upcoming in 2008, Mr. Fred will debut in the 15th Festival Latinoamericano de Música in Caracas Venezula. His most recent premiere was the work Kumba-Kim, of the composer Alfonso Fuentes, a piece written specifically for him and presented in the 2005 edition of the Iberoamerican Festival of the Arts. He has performed in the Casals Festival with the Chamber Players of the Festival (2005) and the New York Philharmonic Brass Soloits (2003). As a soloist, he has been featured with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra in the 2001 subscription series, on tour in the Dominican Republic, and in educational concerts. With the low brass section of the Puerto Rico Symphony, he co-founded the group Cuatro Vientos, an ensemble which frequently performs together in chamber concerts. Since 2007, Mr. Fred is an artist clinician of the Conn/Selmer Corporation.
As professor in the Puerto Rico Conservatory, Mr. Fred has been an important promoter of initiatives that have served as a stimulus to a younger generation of musicians. In 2002, he founded the Song and Wind Seminar, an intensive summer training course. Brass players from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Panama and the United States have participated in these seminars. He has brought to Puerto Rico master classes and residencies of highly acclaimed professors. Trombonists such as: Joseph Alessi and David Finlayson, (New York Philharmonic); Steve Norrell, (MET Opera Orchestra); Michael Mulcahy, (Chicago Symphony Orchestra); are some of the guest artists which have taught at the Puerto Rico Conservatory. Mr. Fred has taught master classes at the Manhattan School of Music (New York), Northwestern University (Chicago), the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. In the summer of 2007 he was faculty at the Harlaxton International Chamber Music Festival in Grantham, United Kingdom.
Luis Fred began his musical studies at the Libre de Música High School. He holds a Bachelors Degree from Indiana University and a Masters Degree from Manhattan School of Music. His teachers include: Antonio Salcedo, Keith Brown, Edwin Anderson, David Finlayson, Steve Norrell, Joseph Alessi, Manuel Laureano and Michael Mulcahy.
Throughout his career as a trombonist, Mr. Fred has been the recipient of various awards. He was First Prize Winner at the Puerto Rico Symphony 2000 solo competition. In 1996 he was also a prize winner at the Manhattan School of Music solo competition. In 1989, while studying with Christian Lindberg, he was a prize winner at the Umea Festival of the Arts in Sweden. That prize included a performance of Lars Erik Larsson's Concertino for Trombone on Swedish Public Radio. At Manhattan School of Music he received the John Clark Award, given to the most distinguished student of the Brass Department. At Indiana University he was awarded the Performer's Certificate, distinction given to students with highly successful graduation recitals. The Office of Youth Affairs of the Governor of Puerto Rico awarded him with the Distinguished Youth in the Arts Award in 1986 and 1990.