When Jean and Andy first met, Andy had received is MM from Rochester’s Eastman School of Music and accepted a position as Director of Bands at the University of Connecticut. Jean Gentry was completing her MA in music at the same University. In his newly formed UConn Concert Band, with few musicians yet available due to World War II, Andy searched for a competent flutist. He came across a timid flute player who had a penchant for “freezing” when the music required otherwise. He recruited student cellist, Jean, to learn the rudiments of the flute and sit beside the flutist to coach her entrance at a solo passage. Alas, during the inaugural concert, while playing to a packed audience, the flute player breathtakingly froze … and Jean saved the moment by filling in with simple notes.
