Verne Reynolds is famous for his technical proficiency, his many publications (including technically difficult etudes), and his inspiring teaching that has promoted technical development. His students play in orchestras around the world and teach in major universities, and his teaching has influenced professional horn playing as few others have.

Reynolds was born in 1926 in Lyons KS and moved when young to Lindsborg, where Bethany College made its faculty available to the townspeople. He began the study of piano at age eight with Arvid Wallin, who Reynolds considers to be his most influential teacher, and also sang in a church choir, directed by Wallin, through college. He started the horn at age 13 when the high school band director handed him an instrument and gave him private lessons.

Reynolds went into the Navy after high school, playing piano in a dance band and sometimes horn in a military band. In 1946 he went to the Cincinnati Conservatory, studying horn with Gustav Albrecht, who was in his last year with the Cincinnati Symphony. Albrecht prepared Reynolds for an audition for the symphony, and Reynolds got the job, at age 20. He switched his major from piano to composition.

Reynolds completed his degree in composition from the Cincinnati Conservatory in 1950 and a master's at the University of Wisconsin in 1951. He attended the Royal College of Music in London on a Fulbright grant in 1953-54, where he studied with Frank Probyn in a horn class. Dennis Brain occasionally sat in on the class and sometimes made comments and suggestions. "One of my prized possessions is a copy of Mozart's fourth concerto with Dennis Brain's markings on it after he coached me during one of Frank Probyn's classes," says Reynolds.

Reynolds performed as a member of the Cincinnati Symphony (1947-50), in the American Woodwind Quintet, and as principal horn of the Rochester Philharmonic (1959-68).

Reynolds was horn professor at the Eastman School of Music for 36 years (until 1995) and previously taught at the Cincinnati Conservatory (1949-50), University of Wisconsin (1950-53), and Indiana University (1954-59). A founding member of the Eastman Brass Quintet, he recorded and traveled extensively with that group with a mission to raise the artistic level of the brass quintet. "We try to get an integrity and an artistic level that would come as close as we can to the finest string quartets that you can imagine."

Reynolds started composing in college, and his first published work, Theme and Variations for brass choir, won the 1950 Thor Johnson Brass Award. He has published over 60 works (compositions, transcriptions, etudes, methods) and has received many awards and commissions. His compositional style falls into three periods: (1) influenced by Hindemith (50s and early 60s); (2) twelve-tone (late 60s and early 70s); and (3) from the mid-70s, freely using every technique he knows.

At the 1994 IHS symposium at Kansas City, former students honored Reynolds by performing a number of his works, with Reynolds providing commentary. In 2005, John Clark oversaw the recording of all 48 Etudes at the Northeast Horn Workshop, also a tribute to his former teacher. Reynolds comments, "I think if you'll take a careful look at the etudes, you'll find that each one has a kind of central purpose. It's been very satisfying to see the attitude about the book change over the years. I think they are beginning to serve their purpose."

His book The Horn Handbook, published by Amadeus Press in 1996, stresses many of the themes of his teaching - memorizing, methodical practice to overcome limitations, and thorough preparation, including score study. He was elected an IHS Honorary Member in 1994.

Jerome A. Ashby was known as a member of the New York Philharmonic but revered even more as a teacher, mentor, and human being. Many colleagues and students hold him in the greatest affection. He died on December 26, 2007 after a long struggle with prostate cancer. He said that his last year, when he drew closer than ever to family and friends, was the best of his life.

Jerome (known equally as Jerome or Jerry) was a native of Charleston SC. He began his studies in the New York City public schools and graduated from the High School of the Performing Arts. He then attended The Juilliard School, where he was a student of former Philharmonic principal horn James Chambers.

After graduating from Juilliard in 1976, Jerome became principal horn in the UNAM Orchestra in Mexico City. There he met and married his wife, Patricia Cantu. He began his tenure with the New York Philharmonic as Associate Principal Horn in 1979 at the invitation of Zubin Mehta and made his Philharmonic solo debut in April 1982.

In 1989 Jerome played the fourth horn solo in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony when Leonard Bernstein conducted members of the New York and Berlin Philharmonics in a historic broadcast to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall.

W. Marshall Sealy, a free-lancer in New York, recalled sharing day care with Jerome when they were about 10 years old. Later they formed an all-black horn quartet with Greg Williams and Bill Warnick. "Jerome was my inspiration, my support toward being the best horn player I could be, my role model, my motivation, and my closest friend," says Marshall. Julie Landsman, principal horn at the Metropolitan Opera and a colleague of Jerome's at Juilliard, remarked, "At the funeral service, I was struck by the fact that almost everyone there referred to Jerome as 'my best friend.' The number of 'best friends' Jerome had is a sure testament to his generous heart."

Marshall also commented, "Maybe he was not aware of it, but because of his high standards for excellence and his first-class achievements, he opened many professional doors for other African-American horn players." Julie recalled, "Our endless discussions about our students were invaluable to both of us. We shared a deep mutual concern for our students - a love, really, as they became our children - and I treasure the memories of these times with him." Alan Spanjer, second horn in the Philharmonic, recounted, "Jerry was completely committed to teaching and his students. Once we were talking about how busy he was with teaching so much, and he said to me, 'That's what it's all about, isn't it.'"

Erik Ralske, third horn in the Philharmonic, said, "Jerome taught me a lot about the horn and about life - sometimes by example, sometimes with concise, but gentle words, and often with his humor. His ardent love of music and the horn remained a constant inspiration, and he was unfazed by the trials of professional life." Howard Wall, fourth horn in the Philharmonic, commented, "One of the things I loved most about his playing was his beautiful slurs. He was one of the hardest-working horn players I knew."

An active recitalist and chamber musician, Jerome appeared at music festivals around the world. He performed with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and with New York Philharmonic ensembles. He also played in the Gateway Festival at Eastman, a gathering of black musicians, including the Bach Brandenburg No. 1 and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

Jerome was a faculty member of The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, The Curtis Institute, and the Aspen Music Festival School. He was elected an IHS Honorary Member in 2007.

Extended tributes to Jerome appear in the May 2008 issue of The Horn Call.

David Krehbiel has been a quintessential orchestral horn player, and he is passing on that experience in clinics, a CD, conducting, and teaching. In addition to playing principal horn in the San Francisco Symphony for 26 years, Dave was Chair of the Brass Department at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and is a founding member of the Summit Brass as a player and conductor.

Dave was born in 1936. He took his first music lessons on the trumpet in his hometown of Reedley CA. He was in the eighth grade when he heard his future teacher, James Winter, play, and from then on, he knew that the sound of the horn was the sound he wanted to make. "Recently, I unpacked a horn I hadn't used for a while and out came this smell of an old brass instrument, moldy and musty. Instantly I was back in school again, opening a case for the first time, seeing this magic thing I was going to make sounds with."

He spent three years at Fresno State and played with the newly formed Fresno Philharmonic. During these years, he spent summers pumping gas at Yosemite National Park. "Every night I would take my horn up to Mirror Lake. The sound would float across the lake and reflect off Half Dome and seem to fill the whole valley. This was Horn Heaven."

His teacher suggested that he transfer to Northwestern University in his fourth year to study with Philip Farkas, who was then principal horn of the Chicago Symphony and had been Winter's teacher. A few months later, he won a position as assistant principal with the Chicago Symphony and remained there for five years, being elevated to the position of co-principal horn under Fritz Reiner. He left Chicago to become principal horn of the Detroit Symphony and nine years later, in 1972, went back to California as principal horn of the San Francisco Symphony.

While with the Detroit Symphony, Dave and Tom Bacon (also a member of the orchestra) played in a rock group, Symphonic Metamorphosis, which recorded twice for London Records and played a concert with the Detroit Symphony.

In addition to his position at San Francisco Conservatory, Dave has been on the faculty at DePaul University, Wayne State University, San Francisco State, Fresno State, Northwestern University, and most recently at Colburn School in LA. He is a member and conductor of Summit Brass and Bay Brass. He has taught and conducted at the Music Academy of the West for ten years. He has conducted members of the San Francisco Symphony in special concerts, including a performance commemorating the first anniversary of the Loma Prieta Earthquake. In 1998, the National Academy of Recording Art and Sciences presented him with a special award in honor of his many musical contributions to the community, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music named him Professor of the Year. He is also involved with the educational activities of the New World Symphony in Miami.

Dave has been a soloist with many orchestras. His CD, Orchestral Excerpts for Horn on the Orchestral Pro Series with Summit Brass, has been a boon to horn students everywhere.

Dave continues to teach, play, and conduct, including participating in IHS symposiums. He has contributed articles to The Horn Call and was interviewed for the February 1997 issue. He was elected an IHS Honorary Member in 2008.

Frank Lloyd is renowned for his technical virtuosity, his musicality, and his willingness to share his expertise. Among many memorable performances at IHS symposiums are Paganini Caprices (with David Pyatt) at Tallahassee in 1993, the Britten Serenade at Tuscaloosa in 2005, and the Bach Toccata and Fugue in D minor at several symposiums (2006-2008).

Frank was born in Cornwall in 1952 and began his musical career on the trombone in his school brass band at the age of 13. At 16, he left school to join the Royal Marine Band Service and was subsequently changed to the horn.

On leaving the Royal Marines in 1975, Frank went to study with Ifor James at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Soon after starting, however, he was offered the post of principal horn with the Scottish National Orchestra (now The Royal Scottish Orchestra), where he remained until 1979. He returned to London to take up a post with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and soon after that became a member of the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, the Nash Ensemble, and the English Chamber Orchestra.

Frank has been on the faculty of the Guildhall School of Music, Trinity School of Music, Royal Northern College of Music and, since 1998, Professor for Horn at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen, Germany, following in the footsteps of the legendary Herman Baumann after Baumann's early retirement. He has toured the world as a soloist, chamber musician, and clinician and has recorded much of the horn solo and chamber literature.

Frank is an Honorary Member of the British Horn Society and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music. He has served on the IHS Advisory Council (2000-2006) and as President (2004-2006). He was elected an Honorary Member in 2009.

For more information on Frank's life and career, see his website .