Frodnesa Music Publishing was founded in 2019 with a focus on publishing new editions and reprints of public domain works by women and composers of color.  

Founder John Asendorf's personal experience of being inspired by black composers such as Billy Strayhorn, Charlie Parker, Thelonius Monk and Charlie Mingus changed his life forever.  While searching for information on these musicians' lives, he was led to learning about race in America in ways that weren't (and in many case still are not) being taught in schools to white kids like him.  Among the lessons learned, John learned of black composers whose work had been quietly shelved or pushed aside in favor of white composers during much of the 20th century.  And, the echoes of that institutionalized racism continue to ring in the selections available and suggested for concerts and competition in high school and college music education.

Although he earned a degree in music, John began a career in information technology at a time when a solid education and some manuals could get your foot in the door.  Satisfying his musical desires through service in a U.S. Army Reserve Band and local bands, he has dabbled in musical notation programs for decades.  As the tools for notation became more capable and more affordable for hobbyists, John began transcribing public domain works for band starting with Alton Adams' march The Governor's Own.  Frodnesa Music Publishing was created as a vehicle to get creations like these into the hands of music directors to expose young musicians to them.   

 Frodnesa is grateful for inspiration from many sources, among them are: ColourFULL Music, The Harry T. Burleigh Society, The Gena Branscombe Project and the Library of Congress' African-American Band Music & Recordings, 1883 to 1923 Collection.