Frederick Fennell was one of the primary figures in promoting the wind ensemble as a performing group. He was also influential as a band pedagogue, and greatly affected the field of music education in the USA and abroad. While Fennell was recuperating from hepatitis for six weeks in 1952, he devised a new symphonic band organization. This involved scaling the typical concert band down to the wind section of a symphony orchestra allowing for greater clarity and fewer intonation difficulties. Fennell called a meeting of nearly 40 players in May 1952. Fennell himself explained that "I chose the best students in the school, and the best solo performers, and the best ensemble players". On September 20, 1952 he held the first rehearsal for the Eastman Wind Ensemble, and he conducted the first concert at Eastman's Kilbourn Hall on February 8, 1953. Desiring expanded repertoire, Fennell mailed letters to nearly 400 composers around the world requesting appropriate compositions for the new group. The first composer to respond was Percy Grainger, followed by Vincent Persichetti and Ralph Vaughan Williams.

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