by Austris Apenis

While practicing, I think many of us have been frustrated with the horn. We always try to do our best to follow our teacher’s advice, try new techniques, perfect every aspect of our playing, and practice vigorously. But even after doing all this, some things just don’t work as we want them to. We might think that maybe we’re just not good enough or that maybe we’re missing some crucial piece of information about playing technique. I admit that these thoughts have gone through my mind more often than I’d like. But in the last few months, my eyes have been opened: I finally got the chance to own a custom-built horn.

The journey was life-changing. Of course I knew that the instrument makes a difference, but I had no idea that it has so much influence on playing technique. I experimented with different models, tubing, tuning slides, bells, and even rotor caps. Every single element either directly changed the character of the horn, or it changed the feeling that I had while playing the horn, and these things influence the sound. Little shortcomings in technique can be solved by having an instrument that works with you rather than against you. An instrument that is efficient and makes certain technical aspects easier, in short, brings balance.

I’ve also seen my sound improve greatly. This comes from two things. First, players need to know what kind of sound they want to have. It’s like fashion: we need to feel comfortable with what we wear; it is an extension of our character, and the horn needs to match that. Second, we must feel comfortable with the resistance of the horn and with what comes out of the bell. This gives you confidence which allows you to relax. Relaxation is, in my mind, the fastest way to improve every aspect of one’s playing.

Don’t underestimate how important it is to have an instrument that matches you as a player. It can make or break you. Find a horn maker that can help you and start experimenting!

Austris: Did you play an instrument when you were young?

Klaus: I started music school when I was nine. My dream was to be a professional trumpet player. In the 1970s, I saw Roy Etzel and his Golden Trumpet on TV playing a piece that felt completely magical, and I thought, “I want to play trumpet like him.” So from about nine to eighteen years old I took trumpet lessons.

I always loved the horn sound too. In our school orchestra I sat next to a horn player (Stefan Dohr), and that sound stayed with me. I didn’t think of switching at first because trumpet was so fixed in my head.

When I was 19 years old, I moved to southern Germany where I learned the traditional German skills of brass wind-instrument making. Seven years later, I completed my “Meister” certification—still playing trumpet, but my connection to the horn kept growing.

When my wife (she works in woodwind repair and restoration) and I moved to the Netherlands and joined a really good wind band, it hit me in the first rehearsal: I have to switch to horn. In symphonic wind music, the trumpet can be less prominent, while the horn often gets the beautiful melodies. I started taking horn lessons and within two months I left the trumpet behind.

For me, the horn has a special job: it connects instrument groups and blends the orchestra. It also has critical moments—solos, soft passages, exposed entries. The sound has to be present without pushing: magical, mighty, beautiful, or holding back so others can shine. It’s the heart in the middle of the orchestra…like the human heart.

Austris: Exactly what Robert Schumann said. How did you become a horn maker?

Klaus: I had already been an instrument maker for around 18 years before I made my first horn. Before I started, I had an old Yamaha and I worked on many horns, trying to understand what makes them work and how they feel in an orchestra. Then I decided I would make one for myself, even if it took years.

You need tools first, especially mandrels, and you have to invent the shape before you build the instrument. I had a clear idea of the direction I intended, and I asked metalworking companies to build tools to my specifications. I didn’t want ready-made horn parts simply to assemble.

When my first horn was ready, I played it for a few months. Then a musician from the Aachen Symphony Orchestra came for a repair, tried my horn, and wanted to buy it. I’d spent so much money on mandrels, tools, and time, that I sold it and built the next one. Then I sold the second, and the third. It kept going like that.

I tested each new horn by playing it in my amateur symphony orchestra. In the beginning it made people crazy because every horn sounded different. But it became a feedback loop: the conductor and colleagues would say things like, “You have a rich sound today,” or “You’re projecting well.” They pushed me to listen, compare, and improve. Over time, people around me even became proud that someone local made these instruments. I am happy to make and repair horns now, together with my skilled team, Lok Yin and Hans.

Austris: Fantastic! So what motivated you to design a new type of horn?

Klaus: The main motivation was simple: I wanted a horn I could really enjoy playing in the orchestra. I tried the main brands I knew, but there was always something missing for me. I was searching for a horn that feels natural to play, has a beautiful sound, blends well with all other brands—and has “magic” in the sound.

My first eighty horns were made without any fixed model in mind: musicians would try one, we would change a little bit, and if it worked, they would buy it. After a while I started to see “red lines” between players, patterns in what different people need. That’s how I began to bring order to all the options, and this finally led to five double horn models.

Today, nearly everybody can quickly find, within these five models, an instrument that works for them at a rate of about ninety percent. The last ten percent is the fine-tuning. For each horn model I have written a “cookbook.”

Austris: Right, the famous cookbook! What choices do you need to make to build a horn and to write its “recipe?”

Klaus: The most important thing is the design of the conical taper, the shape of the inside air column. This taper influences tuning and the “recipe of sound.” If this isn’t right, nothing else will truly fix it.

Very important is also the construction material and how precise you are with it since the whole horn has to vibrate. You decide where the cylindrical part becomes conical, how fast it grows, and how the instrument develops. Even the leadpipe isn’t a simple straight cone: it has minuscule curves and waves that influence the overtones. There are a few key decisions, maybe seven or eight major ones, and then endless smaller choices that shape the final feeling.

In the cookbook, I write down exactly every step I need to take along with additional footnotes, and I read it again each time before I start. It’s about bell shapes, lead pipes, valve sections etc. Then the small details follow, braces, slides, and so on.

Austris: What kind of choices do people make when selecting their right model? And what kind of changes can you make to the base models?

Klaus: Musicians’ choices are based on how they play, what they want to feel and sound, how they want to reach the audience, and where they are performing. The musicians can test the five models like they would do a “wine tasting,” and they will have a favorite model. From there, I go into detail adjusting and blending the instrument to the musicians wishes. Some of the long list of wishes include: a balanced F/Bb horn, projecting well, sounding warm, providing a “spot on” attack, and easy slurs.

Austris: Wine tasting is something many of us horn players can relate to! It’s very subjective. Have you done some research in pairing different mouthpieces and bells with different horn designs?

Klaus: With mouthpieces, it’s relatively simple, because I make my horns work with all mouthpieces. The mouthpiece is the adapter from instrument to the player. The bell is extremely important for the sound that is delivered into the room. It is the gate into the room. There are many options, and it is my task to accompany the musician in making the right choices…and some musicians let me make the choices completely for them.

A very thick bell can make the sound more trombone-like. A very thin, flat bell can make it more trumpet-like or too flat. Finding a bell that makes the sound three-dimensional and beautiful is an art. There are guidelines, but they are not always logical.

Austris: How does the horn influence the player, and how does the player influence the horn?

Klaus: Some players want to produce only their own sound and send it into the horn. The horn is more a speaker for letting out what they are producing. Other players communicate with the horn. They explore what the horn gives them and what they can give back. That relationship is like a dancing partner: you work together to get the result. If you have a horn with few options, you are like a fish in a small pond. When you play a horn with many options, you are a fish in the big pond, growing and enjoying the space you have.

Austris: What do you think is the importance of having a custom-built horn? Can anybody benefit from it, even younger students?

Klaus: First, a custom-made horn still has to work with other horns. It shouldn’t be so exclusive that you can’t blend with other brands. Blending is essential.

A custom-made horn is not only for professionals. It’s for everybody who loves playing horn. Some people say, “For me it’s all the same.” They probably don’t need a custom instrument. But most horn players are fascinated about implementing their favorite playing characteristics.

A good horn is fun to play; it lets you show what you can do ,and it makes goals easier to reach. It is a filter and the perfect amplifier at the same time. In the best case, the horn feels very natural, like an extension of the musician’s body. Experiencing that while playing your instrument will allow you to enjoy horn playing even more.

Austris: In the last few months, I have experienced first-hand how it feels to tweak the horn and learn which element changes what. I’ve learned that it is more important than I thought. I hope that the reader will be encouraged to experiment with instruments and improve their playing through improving the “hardware.” Thank you, Klaus for the fantastic interview!

by Inman Hebert

While watching the recent Winter Olympics in Milan/Cortina, I could not help but admire the individual brilliance and dedication of each athlete. From figure skaters such as Ilia Malinin to cross-country skiers like Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, many Olympians created lasting impressions. In particular, the grace, expression, and technical precision required to be a figure skater mirrors the musicality and accuracy necessary to be a horn player. As with these athletes, musicians put themselves in the artistic spotlight to be compared against their peers.

One performance seared into the minds of viewers deserves reflection for its relatability to our anxieties. Prior to the Olympics, Ilia Malinin had not lost a figure skating competition in two years. He even earned the nickname the “quad god” for his quadruple axle jumps, which no other Olympic skater attempted; however, despite this dominance, Malinin faltered on arguably the biggest stage of his career during his free skate routine as the media pressure of being the Olympic gold hopeful overwhelmed him. His story provides a glimpse into the harsh realities of competition.

As horn players, we can feel defined by competition. From solo competitions to auditions that determine whether we gain admission or employment, the high-stakes environment can create tunnel vision towards an extrinsic goal of winning. Unfortunately, that single-minded pursuit can be unhealthy and unproductive, decreasing our performance levels. Focusing singularly on winning ties our entire self-worth to external sources of validation, which can lead to a downward spiral as inevitable losses accumulate.

So what should we do instead? The answer lies in focusing on the process over the result. Horn playing is a highly individual journey, and our goals should always be relative to our current state. For example, with an upcoming solo competition, redirect the mindset from winning to focusing on improving a specific aspect of a performance. Only then can one’s playing become more compelling. As long as we grow over time, the competition results do not matter because we have already won the real battle: the one with ourselves.

As we approach music competitions, I urge every horn player not to be defined by rankings. Our losses do not determine our value. In an increasingly attention-based world, we must turn towards our inner self. The real competitions we fight are internal, and those results are measured only against ourselves.

by Charlotte Ulmer

Charlotte Ulmer is the Professor of Horn at Purdue University–Fort Wayne and second horn in the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic and Central Ohio Symphony. She was also former principal horn for the North American tour of Disney’s Frozen.

Charlotte received her Master of Music from the University of Cincinnati College–Conservatory of Music and her Bachelor of Music from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. Additionally, she studied abroad in Vienna, where she worked with Wolfgang Vladar, third horn of the Vienna Philharmonic. She also completed a graduate certificate in Arts Marketing and Management through the University of Denver.

In addition to Frozen, Charlotte toured with Les Misérables as a substitute Second Horn and regularly appears with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, West Virginia Symphony, and is a former associate member of the Civic Orchestra in Chicago.

Charlotte’s primary teachers include Haley Hoops, Randy Gardner, Tom Sherwood, Jeff Nelsen, and Rick Seraphinoff.

Notable accomplishments in her career include founding the 501(c)3 nonprofit, Artist Unleashed, for which she produced its inaugural event; she won an Emmy® for her role as Associate Producer in addition to her team’s seven wins for their work on a multi-genre concert and fundraiser.

She was a Jacobs Scholar and Indiana University Founders Scholar for the entirety of her undergraduate career. She won the state title for outstanding chamber music group from the Ohio Music Teachers Association in 2016 and is a Brand Endorser for Robinson’s Remedies.  

As an artist administrator, she has worked for the Classical Tahoe music festival and is a part of the artistic team for Opera Theatre St. Louis. She served as the Business Development Manager for a regional orchestra in Cincinnati, where she wrote and received over $80,000 in grants for the orchestra.

by Caiti Beth McKinney

Hello all! I want to share an absolutely lovely piece of music with you this month, written by the incredible Mel (Mélanie) Bonis (1858-1937). Bonis was a French composer active during the era known as the Belle Époque whose music is currently experiencing a resurgence, despite being almost completely lost until the 1990s. She was an incredibly prolific composer, writing more than 300 pieces of music ranging in genre from solo and chamber works to large-scale pieces for orchestra. Bonis’ life was a continuous tale of perseverance in the face of hardship and obstacles. In a clever effort to bypass misogyny in the music industry, Bonis signed her compositions using a shortened and more androgynous iteration of her first name and once was even congratulated in print as “Monsieur Bonis” by music critics.

During World War I, Bonis endured the hardships and tragedies many Europeans faced during the conflict but funneled her energies into work supporting the war effort, including taking children orphaned in the fighting into her home. She was a deeply spiritual woman, and many of her pieces were inspired by ancient sacred musical styles like plainchant.

I was recently reminded by a former student/colleague of the specific Bonis piece I would like to bring to your attention, Scènes de la forêt, Op. 123 (1928) for flute, horn, and piano. While originally written to include horn, the part is frequently borrowed by other instruments—I have seen performances with cello, English horn, and even viola substituting for the horn. The four-movement, fifteen-minute piece is evocative, ranging in mood from ethereal to triumphant. The Scènes are definitively representative of Bonis’ signature blending of Impressionistic and Romantic elements in her compositions and the play with color and texture to create vivid images in the mind of the listener. This chamber work is an outstanding addition to any recital program. I hope you enjoy listening to it and performing it!