Meet the People—Executive Director of the IHS
by Julia Burtscher
My name is Julia Burtscher, and I am the Executive Director of the International Horn Society, a position I have held since January 2019. I was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, USA, and I now live here again. I lived in Cincinnati for 14 years before my job took me for 10 years to Atlanta. In each of these cities, I have had many wonderful opportunities to play horn on an amateur level and to meet hornists who continue to be my friends.
My career has been with the North American railroad industry since 1999. I work for GE Transportation, and everything I do there revolves around proprietary software systems designed for shortline and regional railroads. These systems manage every aspect of operations, from railcar movement to communication with other railroads to capturing revenue and much more. I support our customers with the software, initiate implementation and training and troubleshooting and system testing while working internally to make sure our customers’ needs are addressed. For me, it’s all about the customers, and this translates directly into my role with the IHS as well.
Technically, I am a horn convert, having started on trumpet at age 10. I played trumpet for two years, then, as I transitioned to junior high school, I decided to switch to the horn because my two best friends played horn and I wanted to sit with them in band. Fortunately, my mom recognized that I should take lessons, and I was lucky to study with Mary Kihslinger at the University of Toledo. Ms. Kihslinger told me about the IHS, and she recommended I join, so I did. While I think I let my membership lapse for a period of time in my 20s, I have been a member for many years, and I always enjoy getting my issue of The Horn Call in the mail—and reading it cover to cover!
As Executive Director of the IHS, I view my role as “keeping the wheels on the bus and removing blockers.” Specifically, keeping the wheels on the bus is the administrative part—paying bills, working with our accountant for tax filing and financial reporting, scrubbing and sending mailing lists to the printers for The Horn Call mailing, facilitating the Advisory Council elections, preparing materials for Advisory Council meetings, and a great deal more. As for removing blockers, when ideas are discussed in Advisory Council and Executive Committee meetings, I assess available tools and resources in order to implement ideas and problem-solve, play devil’s advocate to see if there are any potential problems or considerations, and verbalize our mission, always to ensure that our activities serve our mission. No day is ever the same as the last, and this job keeps me on my toes. But I have loved both the work and meeting truly amazing people who make me better just by knowing them.
I have appreciated the IHS since I joined in my youth. I know that there is one place I can go for resources—like The Horn Call, where I’ve learned about books, music, and recordings that I have purchased—that I would not have found otherwise. Even as an amateur player with a career completely outside of music, I have felt welcomed to the horn world because of the IHS, and it has served as the connection to my first love—the horn.
Meet the People—Florian Dzierla, Illustrator
A passionate musician and pedagogue, Florian Dzierla has always been keen to pass on his love of music. Solo horn of the French Air Force Orchestra in Bordeaux and horn teacher at the Gradignan Conservatory, he likes to share his passion by meeting and collaborating with people in a variety of situations. A versatile artist, he is simultaneously a musician, conductor, photographer, draftsman, illustrator, and visual arts enthusiast. He and his wife, Carine, live in Bordeaux where they are raising two beautiful and very lively young children.
You can discover Florian’s universe on Facebook and on Instagram and—if you scroll down—in the first of many whimsical, colorful illustrations he will present in Horn and More.
Fearless Performance—Your Why is Bigger Than Your Worries
by Jeff Nelsen and Katy Carnaggio
It’s well into the third hour of podcast recording. “Are you ready?” Jeff asks, fanning his shirt under a heavy blanket that’s tented over his head to dampen room noise. “Yeah,” Katy responds, shifting on the floor of her closet a thousand miles away. “Just give me a sec…my foot’s asleep!”
Stiff limbs, sweaty necks, and scrappy set-ups aside, we had an AMAZING time recording the first episodes of our podcast—because when you keep your why front-and-center, everything else falls away.
When it comes to being a musician, continuing to develop isn’t easy. The path through the unusual situations in which we can find ourselves isn’t always clear. We can guarantee that you are going to face some tough things on your journey. At some point, you might even wonder, “Am I good enough to do this?”
First and foremost, yes: You are good enough.
Surround yourself with people who will remind you of that when you start to doubt yourself. However, ultimately, it’s on you to know and believe in yourself.
Knowing and believing doesn’t have to mean feeling it all the time or even acting on it all the time. We’re looking for a healthy 51%, meaning that you’ve just got to believe in yourself a little more than you doubt.
Belief gets you taking your next step. Then, your why can swoop in and carry you through!
Your why is everything when it comes to practicing effectively and performing through hardship. Whether it’s the music, or reverence for the incredible sound of the horn, or the thrill of sculpting emotion in real-time for your audience, or…. Your why will always be louder and more powerful than your worries.
Did you hear us on that?
Your why, when you get clear on it, is going to be louder than your worries.
It certainly was for us when we were thinking of you while recording our podcast! When we stop and think about how alone we can all feel in our doubts and fears. How, sometimes, just a little message of support or a new idea can be the thing that gets the spark going again…then, heck ya! Recording those messages and developing those ideas become way louder than any discomfort or fear we might experience. And this idea holds true for the big stuff, too.
Take a little time to get clear on your why this week. Leave reminders for yourself when you start to doubt. And whenever you could use a little extra belief, check out our brand new podcast, Performing Beyond Doubt.
Cheering you on!
Jeff & Katy
Composer Spotlight—Zenobia Powell Perry
by Caiti Beth McKinney
Hello everyone!
This month, I want to talk about a composer who, while having a limited repertoire for the horn, deserves more of our attention. Zenobia Powell Perry was born in 1908 in Boley, Oklahoma, a town founded in 1905 by Black people who had been formerly enslaved, as well as people from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. There can be no doubt that Powell Perry’s heritage and upbringing influenced her music and her career. Her grandfather, who had been enslaved and later freed, taught the young Zenobia spirituals and songs that would have a noticeable impact on her compositions. During her collegiate studies at the historically Black Tuskegee Institute, Powell Perry was encouraged to compose by William L. Dawson, a renowned composer in his own right. As a result, Powell Perry attended the University of Wyoming to complete her master’s in composition, where she received instruction from Darius Milhaud (a member of Le Six) and Allan Arthur William. Zenobia was incredibly active in uplifting her community. For example, she worked closely with Eleanor Roosevelt (who would become one of her dear mentors and friends) to facilitate a program for training Black teachers. She was also active in the Civil Rights Movement.
Zenobia Powell Perry composed two pieces which feature the horn: Elegy for clarinet, two horns, and two bassoons, and Three Pieces for Horn and Piano, written between 1973 and 1983. The first movement of the three, Prelude, is tuneful and song-like, evoking the human voice in the horn line. Episode I, on the other hand, is bold and declarative, which demands an entirely different tone color from the horn player. Episode II, marked “Lively,” is just that—a joyful, metrically-shifting romp for the performers, culminating in a cadenza that offers horn players the chance to show off their virtuosity. Please enjoy it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1ImDPbR8gY
If you’re interested, check out my podcast where I interview diverse composers who write for horn. Caiti Beth https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/represent-the-podcast/id1669553007
Discover Université de Montréal—Home of IHS 55
Dear fellow horn players,
The Université de Montréal is a French-language public research university and one of Canada’s largest educational institutions. It has been around for more than 135 years, and we are looking forward to calling its Faculty of Music and the Salle Claude-Champagne home next summer for the 55th International Horn Symposium.
Founded on October 18, 1950, the Faculty of Music is recognized as the largest francophone educational establishment for music in North America. Its fame has traveled far beyond the borders of the continent thanks to the remarkable achievements of its teachers, its student community, and its graduates.
Promoting a variety of approaches and interchanges among disciplines in a spirit of collaboration, the Faculty offers students innovative programs which allow them to develop in the professional environment of today, to enjoy the career to which they aspire, and to heighten their impact in the world.
With its vast network of prestigious international partners, the Faculty is a setting for ground-breaking creation and research. Its teaching staff, which brings together performers, composers, and musicologists, along with recognized researchers, cultivates two essential qualities: the readiness to offer students personalized guidance, and an eagerness to involve them in research projects and outreach activities.
A stimulating learning environment where individuals, traditions, and styles all enrich one another, the Faculty also plays host to a number of organizations-in-residence, including the École LUMI, the Canada Research Chair in Music and Politics, the Canada Research Chair in Opera Creation, research and creative-research laboratories, and the OICRM, a strategic cluster dedicated to the support of research.
A true spawning ground for talent, the Faculty showcases its students by presenting numerous events each year, notably at Salle Claude-Champagne, a crossroads for dissemination and creation at the heart of musical history in Québec.
We really hope to see you in Montréal this summer! Make sure you take advantage of the early bird promotion and register before April 1st to save!
Register online at www.ihs55.org.
- The IHS 55 Team
Horn and More Greeting, March, 2023
Sejam muito bem vindos, caros amigos trompistas, à edição de março de Horn and More!
Depois de longas férias de verão e festividades, estamos prontos para iniciar nossa temporada. Sim! Como muitos de vocês sabem, a temporada de concertos, em muitas partes do hemisfério sul, inicia-se em fevereiro/março. A temporada por aqui está recheada de incríveis concertos com diversas homenagens à Rachmaninov e, para a alegria dos trompistas, Gustav Mahler também está recebendo uma atenção especial por aqui. Eu mesmo irei executar, somente no primeiro semestre de 2023, as sinfonias 1, 3, 4 e 9 de G. Mahler. Maravilha, não é?
Gostaria de agradecer a todos os que têm contribuído com a Horn and More com conteúdos tão relevantes e que, mês a mês, enriquecem nosso conhecimento. Sobre o mês de março, há diversos assuntos interessantes:
Feature – Cuban Dances, por Sarah Willis
Latin America – Sarah Willis in Venezuela, por Gabriella Ibarra, Liber Oscher, e José José Gimenez
Artist and Ensemble – Eastern Standard, Part 2: The Repertoire, por Heidi Lucas
Fearless Performance – Your Why is Bigger Than Your Worries, por Jeff Nelsen e Katy Webb
Europe – Interview with Annemarie Federle, por Austris Apenis
Composer Spotlight – Zenobia Powell Perry, por Caiti Beth McKinney
Pedagogy – Dispelling the Fear of Heights, por Ursula Paludan Monberg
IHS 55 – Discover Université de Montréal, por The IHS 55 Promotional Team
É realmente maravilhoso fazer parte de uma comunidade vibrante e motivada! Depois de tanto conteúdo excelente, se você ficou inspirado em contribuir, por favor, entre em contato conosco. A International Horn Society é nossa e ela só é possível com a contribuição de cada um de nós que está disposto a compartilhar arte, música, conhecimento, tempo e presença.
E por falar em presença, também gostaria de chamar a atenção de vocês para o nosso 55° simpósio que, como sabem, acontecerá na linda Montreal, Canadá. Louis-Philippe Marsolais e sua equipe têm divulgado, nas últimas semanas, diversas informações sobre os Featured Artists e o evento como um todo, aumentando ainda mais nossa vontade e ansiedade em participar. Se você ainda não visitou o website do 55° simpósio - ihs55.org - por favor, considere inteirar-se das novidades e iniciar seu planejamento para estarmos juntos - presencialmente - no mês de julho, em Montreal, Canadá. Mal posso esperar por isso!
Sinceramente,
Dr. Lucca Zambonini, IHS Advisory Council
Interview with Annemarie Federle, Principal Horn, London Philharmonic
by Austris Apenis
Congratulations on your new post at the LPO! Has your life changed since the big announcement?
Thank you! Yes, definitely. I have a full-time job now, so obviously my day-to-day life has automatically changed. Having done a bit of orchestral freelancing in the UK, it’s very nice to now go somewhere regularly.
Fantastic! Let’s go back to the beginning. When did you start playing the horn, and why did you choose this instrument?
I started the horn when I was seven, about half a year after starting the piano. Apparently, I was a very loud baby, so I was told my strong lungs would lend themselves well to a wind instrument. There was a brass dectet in Cambridge, where I grew up, who often did family concerts that we would attend, and I think I just liked the look of the horn!
Do you come from a musical family?
Yes, my dad actually studied the violin. He became a biologist instead, but he still plays the violin as a hobby, and so does my mum. Because of this, I always had music around me when I was growing up, so it felt very natural for me to start learning an instrument.
Do you often play together?
We do, at least in the little horn-and-strings repertoire there is. I remember reading through the Mozart horn quintet with them at a very young age, so it was a good way to get to know the repertoire.
Which are your favorite horn pieces?
Orchestrally, it would have to be either Strauss’s Rosenkavalier Suite or Mahler’s Symphony No. 9. These probably seem like very stereotypical choices of composer for a horn player, but they’re both pieces that I don’t think I could ever get bored of playing or listening to. In terms of solo repertoire, at the moment I would probably choose Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings.
I see that you have played a lot in youth orchestras. What was your experience there, and what did you learn from it?
I joined local youth orchestras and ensembles from a young age. One of my first memories of playing in an orchestra is having to play the third horn part in Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9, having never done any transposition before. There were a few situations like this where I was really thrown in at the deep end, but I think this was definitely the best way to learn. I then played in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain for three years, where being around similar-aged musicians who were much better than I was really helped me progress as a player.
What made you choose music as a profession?
Playing in the National Youth Orchestra was the thing that made me realize I wanted to play the horn professionally. I learned a lot about the possible career paths, and mainly also just had such a good time playing in an orchestra with friends who were equally passionate about music. This is why my main goal has always been to play in a professional orchestra since that’s what I enjoy the most.
You study at the Royal Academy of Music. How are your studies going?
I’m in my third year at the Royal Academy of Music now, and I have really enjoyed my time there so far. I started studying during Covid, so it was slightly strange, but we still had lots of in-person teaching and playing, which was quite lucky. I won’t be going there much now, with my new job, but all my teachers and everyone at the Academy have been so supportive, and I am very lucky to be able to stay there to finish my degree.
Since you mentioned Covid, I’ll say that in the Netherlands practicing at home is quite a challenge. I could imagine that in an overpopulated city like London, it is also difficult to practice a brass instrument. How did you experience the lockdowns? Were there any peculiarities?
In the first lockdown, I was at home with my parents in Cambridge. Our neighbors were generally very accommodating towards my practice, although they had just had a baby, so I needed to be respectful with the times that I would play. In one of the later lockdowns, I was in university halls in London, where there were music rooms that you could reserve. This was very useful, although there was one student whose bedroom was directly above the room I used. She came to interrupt my practice quite regularly, complaining that she couldn’t sleep…at 1:00 p.m. on a weekday.
What do you like to do apart from playing the horn?
When I have time, I enjoy cooking and baking; and living in London has really made me appreciate going to the countryside and going for walks in nature. If I’m at home and bored, I also like doing 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles (a hobby I discovered in lockdown) to pass the time.
Are you working on any other projects at the moment?
I have a few solo concerts coming up which I am really looking forward to, the main one being a recital at the Kultur und Kongresszentrum Luzern, so I am preparing for this at the moment.
Awesome! Which pieces are you going to play?
I will be playing the Beethoven Sonata, Franz Strauss’ Nocturno, Schumann’s Adagio and Allegro, Glazunov’s Rêverie, and the York Bowen Sonata.
What are your tips for future horn players?
Always look for new opportunities to further your playing, whether that is a competition, audition, orchestra, award, etc. Put yourself in situations that are out of your comfort zone, as this is the only way you will learn.
Thank you for the interview! We are all looking forward to seeing how your career will develop!
