Hello to the members of the International Horn Society! My name is Emma Gregan – I’m 27 years old and I play Tutti Horn with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra in South Australia.
I grew up in Brisbane and was very fortunate to have access to fantastic horn and brass teachers from a young age, both through private lessons with my teacher Ysolt Clark, and through the public school system. I joined the International Horn Society in 2010 when the Symposium came to the Queensland Conservatorium, where I was in my first year of my undergraduate degree at the time. I completed my bachelor’s degree with honours and spent several years freelancing with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and touring shows (most notably The Lion King), as well as in Perth with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. I also started writing and recording my own compositions around that time, which has led to a number of them being performed, particularly across the USA, and several commissions and awards.
I won my job with the ASO at the end of 2015 and have been here ever since. We are the largest arts organisation in South Australia with a strength of 75 players, and I feel very privileged to work in a first-class horn section in such a beautiful part of the world. I love the variety of music we play in the orchestra and enjoy playing just about anything they throw at us: from early music, Strauss and Bruckner, and modern opera, through to disco and other contemporary things. I must admit that I try my best to get out of anything by Bizet, though. If I ever get fired from my job it will almost definitely be for misbehaving during one of his operas.
I never thought I would be a low horn player: my low register as a student was subpar and I always preferred being picked for the high flashy parts. These days I find it a very rewarding experience to sit in the second and fourth chairs. I like playing the ‘mind-reading game’ with my section, because you start to develop a sixth sense for what they’re about to do before they’ve done it. Sometimes I even know what they’ll feel like getting for lunch, so I think my psychic powers are really sharpening up. For me, the two most important things to bring with me to work every day (other than my horn… yes, it’s happened) are a good sense of humour and a willingness to be open-minded to new or different ways of doing things. That’s my personal formula for keeping you and your section happy and giving yourself the opportunity to keep learning throughout your career.
Settling in Adelaide has given me the chance to establish a little teaching studio and get involved in local community music groups: both deeply rewarding aspects of my musical life. One of my great joys is in my role as the Artistic Director of the Adelaide Horn Jam, our local community horn ensemble. We are the only incorporated horn ensemble in Australian history and have enjoyed a wonderful five years of bringing just about every horn player in town together to make music –hopefully we have many more years to come!
I played Alexander horns for about fifteen years, until 2018 when I switched to a Paxman 20L. I must admit I’m not fanatical about gear, or particular brands – I’m pretty content just playing something that works and feels good. I also have a Paxman natural horn and a Woodhead baroque horn – I love them both, so I think they’ll stay with me for life. One day I’d like to commission an Australian-made horn. I think it would be an amazing experience as a performer to collaborate with a craftsman in that way. Fortuitously we have a fabulous repairman and instrument maker in Adelaide, so I’m thinking he might be the person for the job.
In 2019 I commenced my PhD at the University of Adelaide’s Elder Conservatorium. I’m researching the history of horn ensembles in Australia and our national repertoire, with the aim of developing recommendations towards building and sustaining local horn communities here. Australia has a very vibrant population of horn players so I hope that my work will go some way towards celebrating the Australian voice in horn playing.
I am very grateful for all the things I already have in my life as a horn player, but I do still have some goals to tick off. As a performer I’d love to get involved in more chamber music. There are also many international horn players I would love to meet, learn from, and work with, especially in the early music scene. I definitely want to make sure composing remains a big part of my life too, despite it being put on hold the last year or two because of my studies. Locally, I’d like to help put a real dent in the enormous task of improving the quality and administration of school-aged instrumental music education in South Australia, particularly for children in the public education system. And one day I’d like to take our community horn ensemble to the Symposium, or maybe even host it here in Adelaide. But before all that, my most immediate plan is to finish my thesis and spend a month swimming at the beach!
