by Peter Kurau, with Morgan Chalmers
The School
Greetings from the Eastman School of Music Horn Studio! I’m Peter Kurau, Professor of Horn at Eastman where, since 1995, I’ve had the great honor of succeeding my own undergraduate teacher Verne Reynolds in this capacity. This year, I have the pleasure of working with 24 magnificent horn students and collaborating with esteemed horn colleagues William VerMeulen (Visiting Professor of Horn), Jacek Muzyk, Maura McCune Corvington, and Stephen Laifer (Adjunct Instructors of Horn), and Derek Conrod (Visiting Instructor of Natural Horn). The students hail from 15 states and 4 countries and are pursuing Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctoral degrees in horn performance and/or music teaching and learning, with many students pursuing a second degree or minor field within Eastman or at the main campus of the University of Rochester, approximately a 15-minute shuttle ride from the Eastman campus in downtown Rochester. Ensemble offerings in the curriculum include 2 full symphonic orchestras, a chamber orchestra, a new-music ensemble, and 2 wind orchestras—including the venerable Eastman Wind Ensemble—plus a full array of chamber-music opportunities and Horn Choir. Most of the performances are live-streamed, so please join us as your interests and schedule allow. Wishing you all a most successful and enjoyable season and year! Most CORdially, PK
Student Highlights
-Spencer Bay graduated in 2021 and is a second-year fellow in the New World Symphony.
-Kira Goya graduated in 2021 and won the fourth horn position in the Fort Collins Symphony.
-Emily Houston graduated in 2021 and is a private teacher at the Keller Independent School District Division of Fine Arts in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.
-Claire Bradley graduated in 2020 and won a position in the United States Army “Pershing’s Own” Ceremonial Band.
-Ava Conway graduated in 2020 and won a position in the United States Navy Band.
-Jessica Elder graduated in 2018 and recently won the principal horn position in the Utah Symphony.
-Senior Joseph Alberico is currently performing a one-year contract position as second horn in the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
-Nikkolette LaBonte is pursuing her doctorate at Eastman and is currently guest principal horn for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. She has also served as principal horn for Music in the Mountains in Colorado, and she is on faculty at the Kendall Betts Horn Camp, Eastman Horn Institute, and the Natural Horn course at Eastman.
The Horn Studio
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The 2022-23 Eastman School of Music Horn Studio, with Professor
Peter Kurau (far left, front), and adjunct horn faculty Stephen Laifer and Maura McCune Corvington (far right, front). |
Enjoy the Eastman Horn Studio performing the world premiere of Out of the Depths, by Pamela Marshall, written in celebration of the School’s centennial year in 2021 and performed this past March during the Women in Music festival held on campus.
Professor Kurau
Peter Kurau’s principal teachers included Verne Reynolds, David Cripps, William Capps, and Horace Fitzpatrick (natural horn). He has been an active member of the International Horn Society, having served on its Advisory Council for eight years and as Vice-President, Secretary-Treasurer, Pedagogy Editor, and member of the Editorial Board for The Horn Call. Prof. Kurau also hosted the 29th Annual International Horn Symposium, held in 1997 at the Eastman School. In 2016, he was honored with the IHS Punto Award. To learn more, read his full biography.
