Eugene Victor FREY

News Death Notice

FREY, Eugene Victor age 92, died on Thursday, August 29, 2013, of congestive heart failure. Preceded in death by his wife Edith Cavell Abbott Frey in 2004, Eugene is survived by his daughter Karen L. Frey of Manassas, Virginia, his son Gregrick A. Frey of Washington, DC, and his brother Richard A. Frey of Centerville, Ohio. A native Ohioan, Eugene grew up in Dayton, Ohio. He graduated from Stivers High School, going on to earn Bachelor and Master Degrees from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and to pursue a career in music. He played second clarinet in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra before serving in the Army during World War II. After the war, he returned to the symphony. He also taught at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and the College Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati. In 1957, he became President of the Cincinnati Musicians Association, Local 1, a position he held for 52 years. He retired in 2010, assuming the status of President Emeritus. Over the course of his long career, he advocated passionately for musicians and the performing arts, contributing in many capacities. He served on the Executive Boards of the Cincinnati AFL-CIO Labor Council and the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) International. He was a Trustee of Southwestern Ohio Blue Cross, Trustee of the AFM Employer Pension Fund, and Trustee of the Cincinnati Symphony Pension Plan. He had appointments to the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ohio Council for the Arts. His legacy endures through the non-profit organization he founded to promote live music, Bravo Music, Inc. A graveside service will be held at the time of interment at the Anderson Lone Fir Pioneer Cemetery in Oregon on May 26, 2014. Memorials are suggested to Bravo Music, Inc., 644 Linn Street, Suite 1200, Cincinnati, Ohio 45203 or the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, 1241 Elm Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202.