“Music may not always feed my pocketbook. But it always feeds my soul” – a lifelong dance with the horn

by Laurie Heidt

"Long enough to know better . . ."

That's my usual quip when folks ask how long I've played the horn, because it wasn’t my original instrument of choice. I’d been a trumpet player, like both my parents and my grandfather, for 6 years when a horn was thrust upon me at the end of 7^th grade.

But during junior year in high school, my passion for playing the horn burst forth due to an epiphany. For the first time, I saw a live performance of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony. That opening fanfare, that splendidly heroic timbre that I had known and loved from my parents’ vinyl record collection since I was two years old, was played by a section of HORNS! The very instrument I held in my hands had that power hidden somewhere inside, under layers of after beats, and I was going to find it…

From that very moment I knew the horn would be in my life forever.

As if winning an audition to play with the All-Northwest Band in Portland, Oregon - and hearing that Tchaikovsky from the All-Northwest Orchestra – wasn’t already exciting enough for a high school kid from Butte, Montana,there were more thrills to come that year. I’d also won a scholarship to the 4^th International Horn Society Workshop in Bloomington, Indiana. And in June, I found myself surrounded for a week by 400 horn players from around the world. I was completely awestruck by the performances and coaching by legendary hornists. Memories of hearing Konzertstück for the first time played by the Chicago Symphony horns and our massed horn choir playing Hansel and Gretel still give me chills to this day. I joined IHS on the spot. It was as if fate wanted to make sure the horn would always be a part of me.

From then on, 44 years ago, my passion for the horn grew stronger with every twist and turn life brought me. I played, and soloed, with the Butte Symphony, where Mom, Dad, and I comprised over half the brass section. I owe my musical genes and a debt of gratitude for unwavering support to my parents and family. And I owe my initial musical foundation to five years of lessons with band director Ardith Palmerlee, a trumpet player herself. During high school, Mom drove me long distances to my first horn lessons with Terry Reynolds in Bozeman, who established my solid groundwork for horn playing. Later, I studied for a summer with Nancy Cochran Block, the horn professor at U of M in Missoula.

Our 48th Symposium is in ITHACA, NY!
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Register before May 18 and bask in the beauty of Ithaca, NY and THE HORN!

Whether it’s as a professor (University of Florida Teacher of the Year, Fulbright Senior Lecturer in Nairobi, Kenya,) horn player (orchestral and solo engagements on several continents,) or composer (works performed regularly around the globe,) Paul combines his formidable talents with a gentle, friendly attitude and emphasis on the search for what truly matters in music and life in general: relationship, connection, beauty. Read on for a peek into the mind of this gifted artist! -KMT

Kristina Mascher-Turner: Are you a morning or an evening composer? Where's your favorite place to write music?

Paul Basler: I am a morning composer. My favorite place to compose is in my music studio at home on my Yamaha studio upright piano and also between horn lessons at the University of Florida in my studio.

KMT: Would you say that you belong to a certain "school" of composition?

PB: No!

KMT: I've enjoyed performing your "Ken Bits" around the world over the past several years. Your beautiful "Missa Kenya" also draws its inspiration from Kenyan folk music. Can you tell us about your time as a Fulbright lecturer in Kenya and how it affected you personally and musically?

PB: My year in Kenya (1993-94) and subsequent visits were so special. My music became cleaner and more accessible. I did not need to be so “intellectual.” And I came to realize that relationships are more important than success.

KMT: Which do you enjoy more, playing the horn or writing music?

PB: This is a difficult question to answer! I enjoy both equally!

KMT: Which piece by another composer do you wish you had written?

PB: James Naigus’ Soundings for horn and synthesizer – this is one of the most wonderful new pieces.

KMT: What advice would you give young composers writing for the horn today?

PB: Believe in rests! Really. So many pieces for horn do not have enough rests.

KMT: Your latest premiere at the Northwest Horn Symposium, "Passages" for flute, horn, and piano, came about with the assistance of the Meir Rimon Commissioning Assistance Fund. Do you write all your works nowadays on commission? If not, is there a difference in your process and feeling towards a work when you aren't on a commission? How do you get yourself in the right frame of mind?

From the newsletter of the Japan Horn Society

国際ホルン協会のニュースレターをお読みになられている皆様、はじめまして。私は熊本ホルンアンサンブルの萩坂と申します。今回の平成28年熊本地震を被災したものとして、地震直後から現在の状況をまとめましたので、ご一読願えればと思います。

4/14（木）前震
自宅で息子が風呂に入っている時（21：26）に最大震度7の地震（前震）が発生しました。妻と無我夢中で風呂の息子を助けに行きました。東日本大震災を福島県で被災したホルン吹きの友人からの助言を元に、とりあえず浴槽に水を貯め、念の為妻の実家に避難しました。妻の実家に泊まるのは初めてでしたが、地震による緊張感でほとんど眠れませんでした。また、熊本県のシンボルでもある熊本城に大きな損害が出たことも報道で知りました。