Fred Cummins received his BA in music, MA in music education, and MBA from Stanford University. Early in his music career, Fred sang and played bass with Waterwheel, a folk/jazz duo. He and his partner wrote and arranged tunes, recorded an album, and were featured for two years at the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra's summer concert series. Fred was the first paid director of The Community School of Music and Arts in Mountain View. While there, he established choruses in ten elementary schools and directed in five. He also wrote grants that funded ten “artists in the community” for two years.

Fred is organist and choir director at Foothills Congregational Church in Los Altos. He has written and arranged several pieces for the church's singing and bell choirs and actively recruits musicians to sing and play during church services. The result is a broad mix of styles including classical, bluegrass, gospel, praise, jazz, and what might be called “fusion.” An active chamber musician, Fred often plays recitals in the Los Altos area.

Fred has sung with the San Francisco Choral Artists, San Francisco Bach Choir, Stanford Early Music Singers, Stanford Memorial Church Choir, and Stanford Mendicants, which he also led for two years. He joined the Golden Gate Men’s Chorus in January 2010 as a baritone. In August 2010, he was appointed as Accompanist of the Golden Gate Men’s Chorus.