Reynold's appointment at the University of Southern California followed his retirement, after 26 years, from the School of Music of the
University of Michigan where he served as the Henry F. Thurnau Professor of Music, director of university bands, and director of the division of instrumental studies. In addition to these responsibilities, he was also, for nearly 30 years, the conductor of the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, which is made up primarily of members from the
Detroit Symphony. Reynolds conducted in
Carnegie Hall and
Lincoln Center (
New York),
Orchestra Hall (
Chicago),
Kennedy Center (
Washington, D.C.),
Powell Symphony Hall (
St. Louis),
Academy of Music (
Philadelphia), and
Walt Disney Concert Hall (
Los Angeles). In Europe, he conducted the premiere of an opera for La Scala Opera (
Milan, Italy), and concerts at the prestigious Maggio Musicale (
Florence, Italy), the
Tonhalle (
Zurich, Switzerland), and at the
Holland Festival in the
Concertgebouw (
Amsterdam, the
Netherlands), as well as the 750th Anniversary of the
City of Berlin. He has won the praise of numerous composers, including
Aaron Copland,
Karel Husa,
György Ligeti,
Darius Milhaud,
Gunther Schuller, and many others for his interpretive conducting of their compositions. Reynolds was awarded an honorary doctorate from
Duquesne University, and, in addition, held degrees in music education and performance from the University of Michigan, where he was the conducting student of Elizabeth Green. He began his career in the public schools of Michigan and California (
Anaheim HS) before beginning his university conducting at
California State University at Long Beach and the
University of Wisconsin, prior to his tenure at the University of Michigan. Reynolds spent his summers conducting the Young Artists Wind Ensemble at the
Boston University Tanglewood Institute. This program works closely with the
Boston Symphony Orchestra and the
Tanglewood Music Center. The group includes young musicians from all across North America, and consistently performs the music at the highest difficulty to the highest quality. He shared this responsibility with David Martins, director of Wind Ensembles at
Boston University. Reynolds died on January 30, 2026, at the age of 91. ==Awards and recognition==