Born in 1932 in New York City, Bill Frosch has lived there all his life. He earned his BA from Columbia College and his MD from NYU Medical School, followed by psychiatric training at NYU/Bellevue. He remained on the faculty for many years, serving as Assistant Dean and rising to tenured Professor. In 1975, he was recruited to Cornell Medical College as Vice-Chair of Psychiatry, later serving as Interim Chair, and is now Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry.
Bill’s lifelong passion for music began at age seven with piano lessons and was ignited by attending Young People’s Concerts at the New York Philharmonic, where hearing oboist Bruno Labate inspired him to take up the oboe. He studied with Jerry Roth through high school and college. After a hiatus during medical training and raising a family, he resumed playing in 1967, studying with the renowned oboist Bert Lucarelli—whose mentorship deeply influenced his musical development and became a lasting friendship.