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 member of the IHS Advisory Council, he 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 instrument 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 and elected an Honorary Member in 2022.
Daniel Bourgue (1937-2023)
Daniel Bourgue, "who must surely be the last representative of the old school of French playing," has been acclaimed as one of the finest soloists of his generation, praised for his virtuosity, his tone quality, and the elegance and purity of his style. In addition, he is a renowned teacher and his publications are major contributions to the horn literature.
Bourgue was born in 1937 in Avignon, France and began his musical education there, studying cello, horn, harmony, music history, and chamber music. After receiving a Premier Prix at the Avignon Conservatory while still in secondary school, he entered the Paris Conservatory, where after eight months he obtained a Premier Prix in horn in the class of Jean Devemy. At this time he began his career as soloist and chamber musician, which took him throughout the world.
Bourgue performed with the Orchestre National de France, the Concerts Pasdeloup, the Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique, the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, the London Symphony Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Mexico, the orchestras of Munich, Sofia, and Cologne, and the Salzburg String Quartet. From 1964 until 1989, he served as principal horn of the Orchestre du Théâtre National de l’Opéra de Paris.
Numerous composers, such as M. Bleuse, G. Barboteu, G. Delcrue, M. Constant, A. Tisne, and E. Cosma, dedicated works to Bourgue, and he gave premier performances of numerous contemporary compositions by Messiaen, Delerue, Pousseur, Jolas, Ballif, Constant, and Francaix.
Bourgue's publications include five volumes of the method Techni-Cor, a book Parlons du cor (translated into several languages), a transcription of the Bach cello suites, and numerous editions and arrangements of horn literature. He was a director of the publisher Edition Billaudot.
In later years Bourgue devoted himself to solo performances and teaching. He was on the faculty of the Versailles Conservatory, participated in conferences and masterclasses directed programs for the National Youth Orchestra of Spain. His discography has been awarded Grand Prix du Disque.
Bourgue was President of the Association Nationale des Cornistes Français. He served two terms on the IHS Advisory Council (1980-86), was host of the 1982 International Horn Symposium in Avignon, France, and was elected an IHS Honorary Member in 2008.
Vincent DeRosa (1920-2022)
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photo courtesy of Walter Hecht
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"It's true that I played in thousands of movies, but that was what we did in those days. It would be impossible today, with the current traffic situation, to play as many sessions in a day - often three and sometimes four - as we did then, when we could get anywhere is Los Angeles in half an hour. One day I got a call. I said I could come by on my lunch hour. The studio was near where I played a morning session, so I walked over at noon. On a stand was music with just two notes. They wanted me to play them strongly, so I did, then asked what else they wanted. That was it! And the recording with those two notes became a great hit!"
"I learned the Mozart and Strauss, but the studio business required something different. The music was always new, never seen before; you played it and they recorded it. You never knew what you were going to get. Fortunately, I didn't have problems with that, so I became a well-known player in commercial work. Alfred Brain said, never practice on the stage, and that's what the business was like."
Vince DeRosa was born in 1920 into a musical family in Kansas City. His father played clarinet and his mother was a singer. The family moved to Chicago, where Vince started horn with P. Delecce, and then later the family moved to Los Angeles. Vince studied briefly with his uncle Vincent DeRubertis (who was on staff as a horn player at Paramount Studios), and the legendary Alfred Brain (uncle of Dennis Brain, and Principal Horn at 20th Century Fox Studios), and started his professional career at the age of seventeen in the horn section at 20th Century Fox. During World War II, he played in an Army recording orchestra based in Santa Ana. After obtaining his release from the Army, Vince decided to try freelance recording in Los Angeles. His first jobs were playing live radio broadcasts, and he was successful at this type of work.
As a young horn player, Vince gained playing experience through numerous freelance opportunities while most of the studio players were restricted by contract to playing in only one studio. Before long, Vince successfully established himself as the "first-call" horn player in the recording industry. Many film composers were attracted to Vince's warm and beautiful tone color and began to write prominent horn solos in their scores. Vince's impact on the business brought along with it a new standard for studio horn parts.
Over six decades, Vince played with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, in the LA Horn Club, and for Henry Mancini, Alfred Newman, Lalo Schifrin, and John Williams, among many others. He can be heard in motion pictures (such as ET, Days of Wine and Roses, Cowboys, Rocky, Robin Hood), television, and records for hundreds of artists (including Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra).
In the late 1950s, Vince started playing a Conn 8D. Composers all loved the sound, and more and more horn players switched to the 8D, creating a more unified sound that was recognized and respected as the LA horn sound. Over his career, Vince has worked on horn designs with various craftsmen and horn makers, including the Paxman model 40L with Merewether and the Heritage horn with Hoyer.
As an educator, Vince was a faculty member at the University of Southern California for 30 years (1974-2005), and his students can be heard professionally around the world in every facet of horn playing from jazz to symphonic to chamber music to recording solo and studio playing. Among his students were his cousin Henry Sigismonti (Principal Horn of the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta), George Price (long time third Horn of the Los Angeles Philharmonic), and his nephew Jeffrey DeRosa (a busy studio horn player).
A Vince DeRosa Scholarship Fund was established in 2003 (currently supporting the IHS Solo Contest), and Vince was elected an IHS Honorary Member in 2004.
Lowell Greer (1950-2022)
Lowell Greer holds a unique place among the hornists of his generation. Known for his musicianship and versatility with or without valves, he has received critical acclaim and international recognition as an orchestral hornist, chamber musician, soloist, educator, and horn maker.
A Wisconsin native, Lowell began violin studies at age 4 and took up horn at age 12 due to a hand injury. His parents, both college professors, changed jobs several times, so Lowell had many horn teachers, the most notable being Ernani Angelucci of the Cleveland Orchestra. Lowell returned to Wisconsin to study with John Barrows at the University of Wisconsin and then pursued studies in Chicago with Helen Kotas, Frank Brouk, Dale Clevenger, and Ethel Merker. While in Chicago, he freelanced extensively, performing with the Chicago Civic Symphony, Lyric Opera of Chicago, American Ballet Theatre, Joffrey Ballet, shows, recordings, and as extra horn with both the Chicago and Milwaukee Symphonies.
Lowell joined the Detroit Symphony in 1972 as assistant principal. In 1978, he accepted the position of principal horn of the Mexico City Philharmonic and began to pursue his solo career. In 1980, he moved to Europe to better pursue his natural horn interests, and performed in Belgium as guest principal horn of the Antwerp Philharmonic/Royal Flemish Orchestra. He returned to the US in 1984, where he served as principal horn of the Cincinnati Symphony until 1986. He also performed as principal of the Toledo Symphony from 1990-1997.
During this time, he won seven first prizes at six prestigious international horn competitions: Heldenleben (1977), Gian Battista Viotti, Vercelli (1978), Hubertus Jaachthoornfestival (1979), SACEM, Paris (1981), Jacques-Francois Gallay (1981), and American (1983, 1984).
As a soloist, Lowell performed on natural and modern horn with some fifty orchestras in the US, Canada, Mexico, and across Europe, not to mention his appearances at numerous chamber music venues. His extensive discography includes four CDs on Harmonium Mundi, including the Mozart Horn Concertos and Quintet, Brahms Horn Trio, and the Beethoven Sonata on natural horn, and a recording for Decca L’oiseau Lyre of the entire music of Mozart for winds performed on original instruments.
A dedicated scholar and educator, Lowell taught at Wheaton College, Oakland University, Interlochen Arts Academy, the School for Perfection in Mexico City, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Michigan, and at the Carl Neilsen Academy in Odense, Denmark. An acclaimed expert on natural horn performance, his research led him to become a maker of fine reproductions of classic instruments, and he taught a course in natural horn building techniques at the William Cummings House starting in 1994.
Lowell was honored with the Punto Award at the 2008 International Horn Symposium in Denver, where he led his natural horn group, the Hunting Horns of General Washington. He was elected an IHS Honorary Member in 2014 at the symposium in London.
Sarah Willis
Sarah Willis is an internationally renowned horn player, has been a member of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra since 2001, and is an acclaimed television and digital presenter. Travelling the world with her horn, she brings the best of classical music to a global audience.
Sarah was born in Maryland, USA and holds dual British and American citizenship. Her father’s work as a foreign correspondent took her family around the world and they lived in USA, Tokyo, and Moscow before moving to England when Sarah was 13. She began playing the horn in school at the age of 14, and attended the Royal College of Music Junior Department. She went on to study fulltime at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where her teachers included Anthony Halstead and Jeff Bryant.
Sarah later studied with Fergus McWilliam in Berlin, where she became second Horn in the Berlin State Opera under Daniel Barenboim in 1991. During this time, Sarah played as a guest with orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony, London Symphony, and the Sydney Symphony and performed worldwide as a soloist and in various chamber music ensembles.
In 2001, Sarah joined the Berlin Philharmonic, becoming the first female member of the brass section. As well as her work with the orchestra, she has recorded the Brahms Horn Trio, the Rosetti Double Horn Concerto, and the albums Opera! and Four Corners! with the Berlin Philharmonic Horns. Her solo album, Horn Discoveries, was released in 2014.
Sarah is involved in many of the Berlin Philharmonic education projects and especially enjoys creating and presenting their Family Concerts. She interviews conductors and soloists for the Digital Concert Hall, and in 2011 she presented live to 33 million viewers during the Final Concert of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra. Sarah is passionate about music education and makes full use of digital technology and social media to reach audiences worldwide. She was chosen to be one of the first testers of Google Glass and used this experience to see how new technology could be used in classical music.
Sarah runs a successful series of online interviews known as Horn Hangouts and is also a regular broadcaster and interviewer on television and online and fronts the classical music program Sarah´s Music for Deutsche Welle television.
Sarah was elected an IHS Honorary Member in 2021.
Photo by Sebastian Haenel, 2018
William Scharnberg
William (Bill) Scharnberg, distinguished performer and teacher, began attending International Horn Workshops in 1973, becoming a life member in 1975 and serving in many capacities over the years. He has inspired students and added to the horn literature with commissions.
Bill earned BM, MA, MFA, and DMA degrees from the University of Iowa. He studied with Paul Anderson at the University of Iowa, with summer lessons from Louis Stout and Philip Farkas. He joined the faculty of the University of North Texas in 1983 and retired in 2018 as a Regents Professor with a horn class of fifty students. Previously he had taught at Central Missouri State University (1973-74), Pacific Lutheran University (1975-77), the University of Oklahoma (1977-83), the Royal Academy of Music Stockholm (fall of 1987). At each of these institutions he was also a member of faculty woodwind and brass ensembles.
Fourteen students were mentored through the DMA degree, all of whom are either teaching at a university and/or performing in an orchestra, with two recently retired from universities. Over thirty students who did not pursue or finish the DMA degree won jobs in orchestras or at universities. Many more have become successful public-school teachers or pursued careers outside music. “I am honored to have had the privilege of working with so many talented students,” he says, “and I am proud of their individual achievements.”
Bill performed as principal horn of the Tri-City (now Quad-City) Orchestra, Tacoma Symphony, Flathead Festival Orchestra, Royal Opera Orchestra (Stockholm), Dallas Symphony, Dallas Ballet, Dallas Chamber Orchestra, Breckenridge Music Festival, Big Sky Orchestra, Intermountain Opera, and Dallas Opera (1984-2016), and has been principal horn of the Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestra since 2007. He has performed at international and regional horn conventions, in recital at universities, concerti with regional ensembles, as a chamber musician at festivals, and recorded on Crystal, EcoClassics, Centaur, and Klavier labels.
He commissioned and premiered works by Paul Chihara, David Maslanka, Cindy McTee, Anthony Plog, and Kim Scharnberg. His editions of 18th and 19th-century horn works were published by McCoy’s Horn Library.
Bill served the IHS as an Advisory Council member (1986-1992, 1999-2003), Workshop Coordinator (1981-1998), President (1990-1992), Music Review Editor (1981-2003), Editor of The Horn Call (2003-2020), and host of two IHS Horn Symposiums (1991, 2012). He was awarded the IHS Service Medal of Honor in 2017.
Nozomu Segawa
Nozomu Segawa’s service to the IHS has been significant in bridging gaps, especially language, with Japan and Asia in general during his two terms on the IHS Advisory Council (2006-2012) and since. He has participated in 16 IHS symposiums, often directing the Japan Horn Society horn ensemble, including in 2019 in Ghent. He has been executive director of the society for more than two decades.
Nozomu is a freelance horn player in Japan and professor at the Nippon Sport Science University. He teaches rhythm for athletes, including Olympic medalists. His dissertation “Effects of horn performance during outdoor education toward campers” (2013) was written from alphorn, conch, and hunting horn experience at the university’s annual summer camp and skiing camp. He also conducted research on the relationship between Intra-Oral Pressure and Flow-Velocity in Horn Playing (2003).
His compositions include Tekona Fanfare for three alphorns (2001), Fusehime for conch and alphorn (2006), A Girl and a Cross for horn and organ with choreography of an Okinawa folk dance (200&), and works for oboe and alphorn, horn and alphorn, and conch and alphorn.
Nozomu earned diplomas in horn with Kozo Moriyama at the University of Fine Arts and Music in Tokyo and with Otto Schmitz at the Hochschule fuer Musik in Munich. He was a contract member of the Orchestra of the Beethovenhalle and a member of the Classical Philharmonic, both in Bonn. He has translated (German to Japanese) masterclasses by teachers such as Peter Damm, Frøydis Ree Wekre, and Radovan Vlatković. He conducts junior, university, and city orchestras, represents the ensemble Chocolat Virtuoso Japan, and is a member of the horn/alphorn quartet Ensemble Forest.
Gail Williams
Gail Williams is admired for her tenure at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, her teaching at Northwestern University and at many clinics and workshops around the world, her solo and ensemble playing, and her support of new music.
Gail grew up on a farm in a musical family. Her mother studied percussion and viola; her brother, clarinet. Gail studied with Jack Covert at Ithaca College, then earned a master's degree at Northwestern University and performed with Lyric Opera of Chicago for four years before winning the audition for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1978. She was assistant principal until winning the position of associate principal in 1984, where she remained until retiring in 1998.
Gail teaches at Northwestern University (since 1989), gives master classes at innumerable conservatories and workshops, is horn soloist with major orchestras, and is dedicated to performing chamber music. In 2001, 2005, and 2009, she has served as a judge for the Horn Solo Competition in Porcia, Italy and has coached young brass musicians with Summit Brass since 1986. She has been on the faculty of the Swiss Brass Week in Leukerbad, Switzerland for several years. Her music education degree and playing experience come together in her current teaching.
Gail is principal horn with the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra and was principal horn with the Saito Kenin Orchestra in Japan in 2004 and the World Orchestra for Peace in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009.
Gail has performed as soloist with the Chicago Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Sinfonia da Camera, New World Symphony, the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra, Syracuse Symphony, Fairbanks Symphony, Green Bay Symphony, and a number of regional orchestras.
Gail is a founding member of the Chicago Chamber Musicians and Summit Brass. She has performed with the Vermeer Quartet, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in New York City, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, the Skaneateles Music Festival, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and the Olympic Peninsula Chamber Festival, and she was the featured artist on a chamber music series in Ottawa, Canada with the National Arts Orchestra of Canada.
Gail is active in commissioning projects and has premiered new works by Dana Wilson, Anthony Plog, Oliver Knussen, Yehudi Wyner, Collins Matthews, and others. In 1995, she premiered Deep Remembering by Dana Wilson and Anthony Plog’s Postcards at the International Horn Society Workshop in Yamagata, Japan. In 1997, she premiered Dana Wilson’s Horn Concerto with the Syracuse Symphony. A year later, she performed the Knussen Horn Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Maestro Knussen. She helped commission Yehudi Wyner’s Horntrio, and was involved in the orchestration of Dragons in the Sky by Mark Schultz. She premiered another horn and piano work by Dana Wilson, Musings, in 2003 and performed the US premiere of a concerto for Horn and Orchestra by Collins Matthews at Northwestern University in June of 2005.
Gail can be heard on recordings from Summit Brass, including solo recordings 20th Century Settings and Deep Remembering, and Northwestern University’s Goddess Triology, featuring compositions by John McCabe and works for horn and percussion by Charles Taylor and Alec Wilder. A CD with the Chicago Chamber Musicians was nominated for a Grammy award.
Gail has been honored by Ithaca College with a Distinguished Alumni Award and an honorary doctorate. She received the Charles Deering McCormick Teaching Professorship at Northwestern University in 2005, which allowed her to commission and performed new chamber works by Douglas Hill, Dana Wilson, and Augusta Reed Thomas. She was a member of the IHS Advisory Council (1997-2000), received the Punto award in 2008, and was elected an Honorary Member is 2012.
In October 2021, Anthony Plog interviewed Gail for his podcast, which can be heard here.
