Claude Maury
Claude Maury is one of the leading Belgian hornists, specializing in natural horn, and is professor of natural horn at the Conservatoire in Paris and Versailles.
Claude was born in Belgium in 1956 and studied modern horn and chamber music at the Conservatoire Royal in Mons, Wallonia, Belgium. Further studies with Francis Orval, André Vandriessche, Michel Garcin-Marrou, and Hermann Baumann led to his first job with the orchestra of the Opera Royal de Wallonie in 1974, then in 1976 as a mem ber of the French Belgian Radio and Television Orchestra. After winning prizes at the Gallay competition for natural horn in 1981 and the natural horn competition in Bad Harzburg, Germany in 1984, he left the orchestra for a career freelancing on period instruments.
Claude plays on a regular basis on period instruments with the ensembles La Petite Bande, the Orchestra of the 18th Century, the Orchestre des Champs-Elysées, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Anima Eterna, Les Arts Florissants, Opera Fuoco, and le Parlement de Musique. He also plays occasionally with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestrata, Concerto Köln, Tafelmusik, The English Concert, Bach Collegium Japan, and others. He has recorded many solo and chamber music CD’s, mainly on natural horn.
Jeroen Billiet
Jeroen Billiet is passionate about horn playing, especially natural horn playing and the history of Belgian horn playing. He is currently solo horn with le Concert d’Astrée and les Talens Lyriques and a faculty member at Artesis-Plantijn Hogeschool-Royal Flemish Conservatory in Antwerp and the Royal Conservatory School of Arts Ghent. He is also the IHS Area Representative for Belgium and was host of the 2019 IHS Symposium at the Royal Conservatory School of Arts Ghent.
Jeroen Billiet is passionate about horn playing, especially natural horn playing and the history of Belgian horn playing. He is currently solo horn with le Concert d’Astrée and les Talens Lyriques and a faculty member at Artesis-Plantijn Hogeschool-Royal Flemish Conservatory in Antwerp and the Royal Conservatory School of Arts Ghent. He is also the IHS Area Representative for Belgium and was host of the 2019 IHS Symposium at the Royal Conservatory School of Arts Ghent.
Jeroen has special interest in historical performance practice. He was awarded the title Laureate of the Orpheus Institute with his dissertation “200 Years of the Belgian Horn School, a comprehensive study of the horn in Belgium, 1889-1960.” His doctoral research, “Brave Belgians of the Belle Époque,” focuses on the artistic aspects of the horn horn-playing tradition emerging from the Ghent Conservatory during that period.
Jeroen was born in Tielt, Belgium in 1977. He studied horn at the conservatories in Ghent and Brussels with Luc Bergé. He earned master’s degrees in both performance and education from the Brussels Conservatory in 2001 and entered post-graduate study at the Orpheus Institute in Ghent.
Jeroen has performed and toured with l’Orchestre des Champs Elysées, Concerto Köln, Anima Eterna Brugge, and Il Giardino Armonico. He was principal horn of les Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble and of Insula Orchestra. He regularly performs with B’Rock Gent and Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique. He is a founding member of the Mengal Ensemble, which has released two CDs. He taught at music schools in Bruges and Tielt before taking up his current positions.
John Cox
John Cox was principal horn of the Oregon Symphony (1982-2020), appearing as soloist with the orchestra numerous times and heard on all Oregon Symphony broadcasts and recordings. John has been an active supporter of the IHS and of horn activities in the Pacific Northwest, with numerous performances and presentations at the workshops of the Northwest Horn Society and regional universities as well as across the US in guest recitals, masterclasses, and workshops.
John is a graduate of Boston University and the University of Evansville. He performs with Chamber Music Northwest, the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego, and at Lincoln Center. He has been featured at IHS symposiums, on the faculty of the Tuckwell Institute, and across the country in chamber music performances. He can be heard on CDs as soloist in the music of Chopin, Schumann, and Walter Gieselking, with the Oregon Symphony horn section, and as hornist with the Westwood Woodwind Quintet. John is an adjunct faculty horn instructor at the University of Portland.
John’s first IHS performance was in 1972 at Indiana University. He has published several articles in The Horn Call, most notably a series on orchestra contract negotiations. He was honored with the Punto Award in 2020.
John Ericson
One of the most visible hornists today, John Ericson has wide-ranging experience as an orchestral player, soloist, and teacher. Co-founder of the online magazine Horn Matters, Ericson began his professional career with serving for six seasons as Third Horn in the Nashville Symphony. From there, he turned to full time teaching; first at the Crane School of Music (SUNY Potsdam) where he launched one of the first large horn websites Horn Articles Online. Since 2001 he has served on the faculty at Arizona State University, where he is Brass Area Coordinator. Besides teaching at Arizona State University, in recent years Ericson has served on the summer faculties of the Interlochen Center for the Arts and the Brevard Music Center. He has also performed as an extra with groups including the Indianapolis Symphony, the Phoenix Symphony, and the Rochester Philharmonic.
His publications are a reflection of his teaching. With his additional strong interest in all instruments of the middle brass, Ericson has print and online publications on topics as diverse as the mellophone and the Wagner tuba. His three solo CDs on the Summit label received critical acclaim: The Horn Call hailed Les Adeiux for “Fantastic playing…. The level of musicality, nuance and artistry is not to be missed” and called Canto a “Terrific collaboration between horn and piano.” Table for Three, also on the Summit label, of trios for horn, bass trombone, and tuba with his colleagues Douglas Yeo and Deanna Swoboda, was released in 2015. In addition, Ericson has made recordings with The Potsdam Brass Quintet and The Nashville Symphony, performed on the Grammy Award nominated Fourth World of Native American flutist R. Carlos Nakai, and was a frequent recording artist in the studios in Nashville.
John received the Punto Award at the 50th IHS symposium at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.
Richard Seraphinoff
Richard (Rick) Seraphinoff has contributed to the knowledge of Baroque and Classical natural horns, of which he makes historical reproductions. He has been on the faculty of Indiana University since 1986, teaching modern and natural horn, brass literature, and chamber music and giving a week-long course in historical brass instrument making.
Rick earned degrees at Wayne State University and Indiana University. Among his horn teachers are Lowell Greer, Philip Farkas, Meir Rimon, Francis Orval, Michael Hatfield, Myron Bloom, and Eugene Wade. Richard won the 1984 Erwin Bodky Early Music Competition and the 1981 Heldenleben Horn Competition. He has performed on modern horn with the Detroit and Toledo symphonies and the Michigan Opera Theater. On natural horn, he has performed with virtually every Baroque and Classical orchestra in the US and many in other countries. He has written articles for the Historic Brass Society Journal, The Horn Call, and other periodicals, and with Linda Dempf has written Guide to the Solo Horn Repertoire.
Rick has performed at IHS symposiums and regularly exhibits his historical horns there. His experience with a lip injury informs his horn teaching.
Rick received the Punto Award at the 50th IHS symposium at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.
Randy C. Gardner
Randy Gardner was Professor of Horn and Chair of the Winds, Brass, and Percussion Department at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music for 22 years following 22 years as second horn in the Philadelphia Orchestra. He has published books (Mastering the Horn’s Low Register), composed works for horn (Why?!), and performed and co-produced recordings (Shared Reflections: The Legacy of Philip Farkas).
Randy earned a Bachelor of Music from Indiana University. His teachers include Philip Farkas, Christopher Leuba, Ethel Merker, and William Adam. He is interested in psychology, especially sports psychology as applied to music performance.
Randy served on the IHS Advisory Council from 1999-2005, has been a featured artist at international symposiums and regional workshops, and serves as adjudicator at competitions. He has chaired the Rimon Commissioning Assistance Fund and commissioned compositions.
Randy received the Punto Award at the 50th IHS symposium at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.
Marcus Bonna
Marcus Bonna has been instrumental in the formation of the Brazilian Horn Association, Brazilian national horn workshops (Encontro Brasileiro de Trompistas), and the 2017 IHS Horn Symposium in Natal, Brazil. Over the years, he has donated products from his company to help the IHS raise money for various programs. As a current member of the IHS Advisory Council, he has supported a closer association between Brazilian horn players and the international horn community.
Marcus was born in Belem, Pará, Brazil in 1960 and studied at the Federal University of Pará School of Music. He played in the National Theater Orchestra of Brasilia and joined the University of Brasilia before moving to São Paulo to play in the São Paulo State Symphony for the next 20 years. He also played in chamber music groups such Gramado Wind Quintet and Brazil Brass Group.
Marcus hurt his back in 1990 and developed a lighter instrument case for himself. This case sparked interest from his orchestra colleagues, then visiting horn players. He founded the MB company in 1991 to manufacture instrumental cases – all designed by Marcus. The company now employs 72 people and exports about 700 cases a month to more than 25 countries. In 2011, the company received the Exporta São Paulo Award for exporting 98% of its production and for manufacturing a product made 100% with domestic raw materials and, in 2016, it was awarded the title of Child Friendly Company.
Marcus is a member of the Board of Bragantina Friends of the Arts Association. In 2009, together with his wife, Kathia, and Luis Custódio, he founded the Lyra Bragança Project whose purpose is to offer free music education for youth from the periphery of Bragança Paulista (near São Paulo).
Marcus was given the Punto Award in 2017.
