Fred Mills, second from left, who died on Monday, is flanked by the rest of The Canadian Brass in this 1986 photo taken at Niagara Falls. The other members are: from left, Gene Watts, Mills, Ron Romm, Marty Hackleman and Chuck Daellenbach. (CBC)

Fred Mills, a trumpeter who played for 24 years with the Canadian Brass, has died in an automobile accident. He was 74.

Mills, who was teaching at the University of Georgia school of music, died Monday in an accident near Atlanta, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. He had just returned from a concert date in Europe.

The Canadian Brass website paid tribute to Mills, saying he "had a unique ability to communicate through music and on a personal level."

"Through the excellence of his performances and the quality of his arrangements, he helped lift the brass quintet repertoire from a curiosity to a legitimate and accepted art form rivaling the string quartet."

Mills was born in Guelph, Ont., and began his brass studies on a cornet purchased from a traveling salesman.

He studied at the Juilliard School in New York and was invited to join the Houston Symphony Orchestra in Texas as principal trumpet.

In 1961 conductor Leopold Stokowski formed the American Symphony Orchestra in New York City and Mills moved with him, becoming a founding member of the ASO.

While in New York, he had a chance to play with NYC Ballet Orchestra, Musica Aeterna Orchestra at the Metropolitan Museum, Marlboro Festival Orchestra, and to record with Morton Gould, Robert Shaw and Igor Stravinsky.

Mills was principal trumpet with the New York City Opera for six years, but he returned to Canada in 1968 to play with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa.

New concept

In 1972, he joined the Canadian Brass, a brass quintet spearheaded by Chuck Daellenbach and Gene Watts. An all-brass ensemble was a new concept and the Canadian Brass developed a unique rapport with audiences.

Having a player of Mills's reputation join the ensemble was a big boost to the fledgling group, Daellenbach said in an interview with CBC News.

"He really set the tone and put us in the national and international loop because of the reputation he brought with him."

Having begun playing the cornet, Mills brought a lyricism and musicality to the piccolo trumpet that other players didn't have, Daellenbach said.

"When he began playing, the piccolo trumpet was considered an accessory instrument, but now you won't see an orchestra or ensemble now without one. Fred is responsible for changing the reputation of the instrument, " Daellenbach said.

Mills's facility for arranging music also helped the ensemble move into a sound based on great classical composers from the few pieces developed for brass, Daellenbach said. Among his arrangements for brass that are still heard around the world are a Bach Fugue in B Minor and Vivaldi's Spring.

Mills made more than 40 recordings for RCA, Sony, Philips and BMG and was nominated for a Grammy in 1992. He also played thousands of concerts around the world and made TV appearances on CBC and other networks with the Canadian Brass.

He left in 1996 to become a professor at the University of Georgia, but remained active as a soloist internationally.

Mills coached a graduate brass quintet, The Bulldog Brass Society, in Georgia and is known for his mentoring of Canadian musicians.