As a
fifth-grader in
Silver Bay, Minnesota Fedderly's first choice of instrument was drums, but there were too many drummers already. Trumpet and trombone (his second and third choices) weren't available either, so he was offered a
sousaphone instead. He earned the money for his first tuba by cleaning out bear cages at the Split Rock Trading Post, and went on to study at
Northwestern University with the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Arnold Jacobs. Fedderly has been the principal tubist for the
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since 1983 and has performed as substitute principal tuba for the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the
Philadelphia Orchestra,
Boston Symphony Orchestra,
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and the
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Fedderly is a notable teacher of
tuba,
euphonium, and general respiratory techniques for playing
brass instruments. He lectured at the
Peabody Institute of the
Johns Hopkins University until 2000 and rejoined the faculty in 2009. He has been on the faculty of
The Juilliard School since 2002 and has also held teaching positions at
DePaul University,
University of Maryland, College Park, and
The Catholic University of America. He is a member of the board of directors of the
International Tuba Euphonium Association, where he served as treasurer from 2008 to 2010, and is the proprietor of the Baltimore Brass Company, a large brass sales and repair shop in
Catonsville, just west of
Baltimore. ==References==