Olavi Vikman is the first "master" for many Finnish horn players. He is regarded as an uncompromising player who honors music, a great musician and a great human being. The first performance in Finland of Schumann's Konzertstück took place in Turku with Vikman as first horn.

Vikman was born 1931 and started his musical studies in the Guard's Band in 1944, studying with Holger Fransman (1944-52). He became a member of the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra in 1951 and remained for 42 years; he was principal horn for 34 years. He taught for several years at the Turku Music School and Conservatory.

Vikman was active as a conductor as well as soloist and chamber musician, and he made arrangements for orchestras and choirs. He was always willing to help his students and fellow musicians. Vikman was always encouraging and had a good sense of humor.

Vikman received the Punto Award at the IHS symposium in Lahti, Finland in 2002.

Wayne Barrington was an impeccable musician and hornist, and a tireless teacher who expected nothing but the finest from his students but who, in return, was dedicated to their success. His playing career took him to the Chicago Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic, and he taught at the University of Texas in Austin for 34 years. He died in Austin in 2011 after a long illness.

Wayne was born in 1924 in Schenectady NY and brought up in Detroit and Worcester MA. His mother was an amateur pianist and his father studied horn in Detroit with Albert Stagliano, principal horn in Detroit and later the first principal horn of the NBC Symphony. In Massachusetts, his father changed to bassoon, but his mother took up horn and studied with Walter MacDonald, second horn in the Boston Symphony. In 1939, when students were needed at New England Conservatory, his mother was given free tuition to perform in the orchestra and study with Willem Valkenier, principal horn of the BSO. The family often invited other musicians to the house for evenings of chamber music.

Wayne began studying at New England Conservatory with Valkenier in 1942, but the next year he was drafted into the Army, where he played in a band that was based in Germany and France. He returned in 1946, studied with Walter MacDonald, was a student at Tanglewood during the summer, and went back to NEC in the fall. He played principal horn in an orchestra conducted by Arthur Fiedler for broadcasts when the BSO was out of town, and in shows on their way to Broadway; during this time he assisted Arthur Goldstein with the humorous Schmutzig method book.

Wayne returned to Tanglewood in the summers of 1947 and 1949, then took a job in San Antonio, but after only one season was called up to serve in Korea. He ended up playing in the band at General MacArthur's headquarters in Tokyo, including the farewell ceremony when President Truman fired MacArthur.

Wayne returned from the service in 1951 and won a position as second horn in Pittsburgh, where over the next three years the orchestra made a number of recordings under William Steinberg for Capitol Records. He also played the spring Pops season in Boston. Then he auditioned for Fritz Reiner, the new conductor in Chicago, and a few months later was offered the third horn position. The section included Philip Farkas, Joe Mourek, and Clyde Wedgewood, with Louis Stout and David Krehbiel as assistants. He also played in the Chicago Symphony Brass Ensemble with Bud Herseth, Renold Schilke, Frank Crisafulli, and Arnold Jacobs, an ensemble often cited as highly influential in establishing the brass quintet as a standard format for brass chamber music. He taught at DePaul University and at home.

After ten years in Chicago, Wayne looked for a better climate because of his wife's illness. Zubin Mehta hired him as associate principal horn in the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and he also played in the Los Angeles Brass Quintet. After two years, when his wife had died, Wayne found a position at the University of Texas in Austin, where he taught from 1966 to 2000, also playing in the faculty woodwind quintet, the Solar Winds, and in the Austin Symphony (1966-1988).

When asked about his pedagogical techniques, Wayne responded that although he had never discussed playing or teaching the horn with Philip Farkas, they shared many concepts and solutions to horn playing problems. He believes that music is a unique profession where competition is put aside in favor of cooperation. In retirement, Wayne has pursued publication of excerpt books and encouraged chamber music in Texas.

Wayne received the Punto Award at the IHS workshop in Denton TX in 1991. A tribute appears in the August 2001 issue of The Horn Call.

Coulston (l) being presented his Punto Award by Barry Tuckwell

Sydney Coulston was one of Britain's most highly respected hornists and teachers of the 20th century. His influence on British horn playing, through both his teaching and performing, was immense. He had legendary powers of concentration and accuracy, and he was a teacher of great renown.

Coulston was born in Oldham, Lancashire in 1910, son of a warehouseman. As a youth, he played tenor horn in the local Temperance Band and worked in a metal polish factory. He moved to a piston valve French horn and studied on scholarship with Otto Paersch at the Royal Manchester College of Music (1927-1930). His first professional position, while still a student, was with the Hastings Municipal Orchestra, a seasonal orchestra with top-class soloists and conductors.

In 1930 he left his studies to join the Scarborough Spa Orchestra and in 1934-1935 played two seasons of opera at Glynbourne. He changed to an Alexander 103 double horn in 1934. In 1938, he became principal horn with three orchestras – the Hallé, the BBC Northern, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic – possible in those days because of part-time and compatible schedules.

In 1940, Coulston joined the RAF Air Gunnery Section, eventually serving as a Lancaster rear gunner over Germany. He returned to the Hallé a few times between sorties to play in wartime concerts.

After the war, the Hallé and Liverpool became full-time orchestras, so Coulston concentrated on playing principal horn with the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra, later renamed the BBC Philharmonic. He traveled to America in 1950 with Dennis Brain and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Thomas Beecham. He frequently was guest principal with the Philharmonic, especially when Brain was away in another engagement. In 1953, he played second to Brain at the coronation in Westminster Abbey. He was a close friend and admirer of Brain, having first met him in Hastings when Brain was there on holiday as a boy.

Coulston was professor at the Royal Manchester College (later the Royal Northern College of Music) from 1950 until his retirement in 1979. His list of successful students is phenomenal. He even gave lessons to Brain on the then-new German horn in B-flat. He remained loyal to the BBC in Manchester, despite the temptation to move to London.

Coulston received the Punto Award at the IHS workshop in Manchester, England in 1992. A profile appears in the October 1992 issue of The Horn Call and a tribute in the 1999 issue of The HORN Magazine of the British Horn Society.

The horn section of the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra, ca. 1960, included (l-r) Peter Ryder, Frank Taylor, Robert Aspden, and Sidney Coulston.

Yasuyo Ito was a leader of horn playing in Japan, forming the Japan Horn Society in 1988, initiating annual horn festivals in regions of Japan, and leading the effort to host the 1995 IHS workshop in Yamagata, the first IHS workshop in Asia.

Ito was born into a family of music lovers. His older brother and sister both played the piano, and his father created a student orchestra at the University of Niigata, where he was president. Ito was more interested baseball before he started his first instrument – trumpet – in junior high school. At a local orchestra, he was given a mellophone to play.

When he was in high school, Ito's father sent him to study trumpet with a professor in Tokyo. At his third lesson, the professor advised him, "The trumpet has so many students, it may be difficult to survive professionally. On the other hand, there are fewer horn players and it will be easier to make a living on it. I will send you to a good teacher." Ito took his advice and studied the horn diligently.

After high school, Ito attended the Musashino University of Music in Tokyo. His teacher was Kiyotaka Sono, second horn in the NHK Symphony Orchestra. He also had lessons with Richard Mackey, first horn in the Japan Philharmonic for two years and later fourth horn of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He played with the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, which was formed for the Olympic Games in 1964, until his retirement at age 60.

Ito heard a recording from the Los Angeles Horn Club that impressed him so much that he wrote to Wendell Hoss, librarian of the club, asking for copies of the music to play in Japan. With these scores, he called on horn players in various orchestras and began a professional horn ensemble called the Tokyo Horn Club.

Ito heard the Chicago Symphony's horn section, led by Dale Clevenger, play Ein Heldenleben with the New Japan Philharmonic. After the concert, Ito went backstage and asked Clevenger to allow him to go to Chicago and study with him. Ito was in his early thirties at the time. He had lessons with Clevenger, ensemble playing at Northwestern University, and attendance at Chicago Symphony concerts each week. Clevenger took him to the IHS Workshop at Michigan State University, which impressed him immensely and started his dream of bring the IHS Workshop to Japan.

Back in Japan, Ito organized a festival to celebrate the retirement of Kaoru Chiba from the NHK Symphony Orchestra. This gathering of professionals, students, and amateurs led to the formation of the Japan Horn Society. With Ito as its first chairman, the society began its activities in 1988 with regional festivals, culminating in 1995 with the international workshop at Yamagata. This workshop was supported financially by the municipal government, and its audience totaled more than 10,000 people during the week. Ito later commented that having the festival in Japan "created a solid foundation that has resulted in a higher level of horn playing among the Japanese youngsters."

Ito later established the Alexander Horn Ensemble Japan to provide opportunity for players in their thirties, which he led to the issuing of a CD.

Ito received the Punto Award at the IHS workshop in Yamagata in 1995. A tribute to him appears in the February 2007 issue of The Horn Call.