by Gary Kuo
(photo credit Aaron Weber)
Facebook’s 10-Year Challenge invites participants to compare and share portraits of themselves from a decade ago with those taken recently. While I don’t believe my physical appearance has changed much since 2012, one thing definitely has: the number of real world friends I’ve made who are horn players. When reflecting on the meaningful connections I’ve established since the launch of social media, I’m delighted and amazed at how many corno compadres I now have. I don’t even play the horn.
I’ve always had a curiosity for all things mechanical, including instruments. Having started violin in third grade, I understood how each member of the string family worked. It was the intricate key and valve design of the winds and brass, however, that would continue to fascinate me over the years. As a result, I would occasionally let my mind wander during youth orchestra and marvel at how brass players could produce so many notes with so few “buttons” and how horns worked so well in the disco versions of “Star Wars” and “Close Encounters.” There’s nobility in their sound I thought, gazing at their complex network of pipes that were both beautiful and a bit daunting.
During my undergraduate years at Juilliard, I spent a summer as concertmaster of the All-American College Orchestra at Walt Disney World, where I got to see just how versatile musicians in the other sections could be. It was enlightening to try and grasp the concepts of transposition and doubling and seeing my colleagues perform those skills with ease inspired me to learn more. Exposed to a wider range of genres, I began listening to music from an entirely different perspective. Instruments, both electronic and acoustic, became individual colors within a massive tapestry of sound, and there was so much more to discover: my existing love of blinking lights, knobs, and switches had evolved into a passion for creating new music. The following year, I completed my bachelor’s in performance and went on to pursue a master’s in composition for film and television.
After graduating from the two-year Media Writing and Production program at the University of Miami in Florida, I moved to Los Angeles, where I began composing for network TV and played violin as a freelancer, doing session work on occasion. Performing on soundtracks gave me the rare opportunity to see some of the industry’s greatest composers and recording artists in action. I often had the privilege of watching studio legend James Thatcher play and lead his section as they produced that amazing Hollywood sound we’ve come to know and love. It was also the first time I really took note of the steps required to remove water from a horn. If you ever write for that instrument, I told myself subconsciously, give the performer enough time at regular intervals to execute all those moves with care and precision.
And that sound. Hearing all those horns playing together? It was a sonic experience I would never forget.
The exclusive use of technology by composers, while convenient and frequently expected, sadly removes human interaction from the creative process. So, when Dr. Michael Harcrow, professor of horn at Messiah University and a good friend from graduate school, reached out in 2012 and asked me to write something for his students, I welcomed the opportunity. “What’s the instrumentation?” I asked. “Just horns,” he replied. Really? Is that a thing, I wondered? After doing a little research, I learned it was not only a thing, but also a very, very beautiful thing. Recalling my experience sitting near the horns on the scoring stage, I was eager to create a work that might incorporate some of the most gorgeous sounds I had heard over the years.
In the summer of 2013, Mike’s students premiered “Mountain Spires” for six-part horn choir at the 45th International Horn Symposium in Memphis, Tennessee. I was honored to have my music included in their program and excited that they won second place in the large ensemble competition. Little did I know that Mike’s invitation for me to contribute to this weeklong celebration of all things horn would profoundly change my life and open up a whole new world of possibilities and friendships.
The first two horn professors to reach out asking about my piece were Tulsa Symphony member Lanette Lopez Compton and Canadian Brass member Jeff Nelsen who teach at Oklahoma State University and Indiana University, respectively. Their interest and enthusiastic support were heartwarming and the thought that I might have something to offer educators was really exciting. I owe much of the direction I’ve received in life to my music teachers and I’m convinced that, without their guidance and wisdom, I’d have wandered off aimlessly like some buggy video game character. So, along with a performance and recording generously provided by Los Angeles-based hornist and engineer Preston Shepard, I released the music online. (You can hear Mr. Shepard’s performance here. MH)
Before long, I started connecting with professors and students across the United States as they heard about and began programming my five-minute piece in their studio recitals and concerts. It was a blast and so very satisfying. Most of what I compose, television underscore, is produced in complete isolation and often so quickly I forget what I did just a few hours ago. Writing concert music, by contrast, places me in a different frame of mind and provides far more time to savor the entire process. In addition, the feeling of knowing one’s work will be performed for an audience is akin to seeing your child return from a birthday party with a big smile and a fistful of colorful balloons.
The 47th International Horn Symposium was scheduled to take place in Los Angeles so Mike suggested I attend. Annie Bosler, who was co-host of the annual event and Jeff, who was then president of the International Horn Society, thought I should write something for Jeff to perform as soloist with concert band. By now, I had been invited to the Facebook Horn People group, where I was learning a lot more about this great instrument, as well as some of the technical challenges and musical preferences of its members, both amateur and professional. I knew there could be no offbeats in this new work. No, this composition was going to be one in which all horns on stage would be heard.
In August of 2015, Jeff gave the world premiere performance of “Wingspan” with the Colburn School Adult Wind Ensemble in the closing concert of IHS 47. It was a fantastic way to end the week. I had spent the previous few days listening to interviews, performances, and meeting many of the new friends I had made since the release of “Mountain Spires.” It was also fun to rub elbows with a few superstars, including Jeff. He and I had spoken about his new piece in the months before the convention, but being able to spend time with him in person, watch him work, and hear his thoughts about other artist-related topics, was extra special.
That academic year, the University of Kansas Wind Ensemble led by Dr. Paul Popiel accompanied Jeff in a second performance of “Wingspan” which I shared on YouTube. In the months following the release of the video, I felt as if a wish from my days as a teen was becoming a reality: I was finally getting a chance to work with the kids in band. Horn players, from high school students to seasoned professionals, along with their teachers and music directors, were discovering and performing my little piece, and with each concert came an opportunity for me to meet someone new, learn about another school or community group, and in the case of international artists, use Google Translate. In 2019, “Wingspan” went on tour throughout America with several military bands including the United States Army Field Band. I had heard soloist Sergeant Major Robert Cherry and his fellow horn players perform at IHS 47 and was honored he would choose to share my work with his audiences. How I wish that my parents, who immigrated to the US, had been alive to attend one of the band’s concerts. I can only imagine how proud and excited they would have been.
My artist friends, who increase in number each year, have greatly expanded my knowledge base, worldview, and further clarified what it means to be a musician. They’ve even helped realize the commissioning of new works for orchestra and band, along with a world premiere at Carnegie Hall. This year, in 2022, both of my compositions for horn head to Texas, where “Wingspan” will be performed by the East Texas Symphonic Band featuring soloist Dr. Andrea Denis while “Mountain Spires,” now on the University Interscholastic League’s prescribed music list for the Texas State Solo-Ensemble Contest, will be presented by her students before the concert. I’m just thrilled.
Although I’ve always known how music can unify and foster relationships between people, I am deeply grateful to the community of horn players and the sense of camaraderie it projects. This fellowship continues to connect me to wonderful individuals all over the globe, and provides some very welcome solace during these trying times.
Gary Kuo is a six-time Emmy award-winning composer and violinist based in Los Angeles.
