Kristina Mascher-Turner: Would you say that there is any characteristic sound or style of horn playing that is quintessentially Australian?

Emma Gregan:That’s a tough one - it’s like how it’s really hard to hear your own accent! I don’t know if Australia has an internationally recognisable sound in the same way as places like Germany or the UK. I would hazard a guess that it’s a consequence of never having any national horn brands that have caught on nationwide like Alexander or Paxman, and of course our very different cultural history from the rest of the Western world. However, if you’ve ever eaten in Australia you’ll know that we are truly a great adopter and adapter of culture; you can get great food of any cuisine here, and we have a wonderful multicultural society to thank for that! I think in the same way, our horn players travel the world having lessons, drawing knowledge from many different schools and finding ways to create great sounds using a huge range of instruments, before bringing these skills back home. The diversity of sound concepts and the adaptability of our musicians to each other is something I truly love about working here!

KMT: What is it like for young players and students in Australia who hope to make a career out of playing?

EG:It’s certainly not easy! As we all know, a music degree doesn’t include any guarantee of work, and many students graduating here at the age of 20 or 21 find this an ominous prospect. There are eight professional orchestras in Australia, and I believe 41 full-time horn positions between them, many filled by long-serving players. Considering the healthy number of conservatory students studying at any time, one can sympathise with those doing the math on their chances of an orchestral job! There are some academy and fellowship positions coveted as ideal ‘next step’ scenarios, but certainly not enough to cater for all graduates, and sadly not even enough for all those who show great promise. Some of the larger cities support a handful of full-time freelancers working as orchestral casuals or show musicians, but not all our state capital cities can. All of these factors combine to create a difficult transition period for many students between graduation and a sustainable playing career.

Dear fellow horn players!

In my experience as a participant in numerous international horn competitions, I have met with dozens of young horn players, I have tied links with some of today’s best professional players from all over the world and I have listened to so much great horn playing!!! Every new competition was a challenge and an opportunity to learn something, new repertoire, different players, wonderful horn sounds, and to meet with all kinds of human beings, ranging from the narrow-minded competitive asshole to the sweetest beer/wine drinking horn playing people around! These competitions also helped me to bring my playing to the best it could be at the time, made me a much stronger and better player and a more open and curious artist. I really wish I could do it again!

I am very pleased to present you with a new program the IHS has put together through its International Competition Funds. It will reward the winners of international horn competitions, with an additional US$1,000 prize, an IHS membership as well as a Featured Artist spot to a subsequent International Horn Symposium. These measures are put together to encourage younger horn players to join into these competitions, to meet and hear other hornists and to give the best out of their horn! 

From October 30th to November 4th will be held the International « Città di Porcia » Competition in Italy, stay tuned for the stories and news!

Also, applications are now open for the Prague Spring Competition, which will take place from May 7th to 15th, 2018, in Prague, Czech Republic. You have until December 1st, 2017 to send your application. All informations are available at http://competition.festival.cz/en/news or through Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PragueSpringCompetition/

I sincerely hope all the horn competitions participants will get some fun and some learning experiences out of it, and eventually will bring the horn world to a higher level!!!

Louis-Philippe Marsolais
IHS Advisory Council

Special Sound at the Sauerland Horn Festival

By Mathias Pfläging

The 8th Sauerland Horn Workshop attracted 60 musicians from all over Germany, Luxembourg, and Switzerland to the Sauerland region. The two leaders of the horn workshop, Uwe Becker and Mathias Pfläging, were once again able to bring in top-class coaches:

Team of the Sauerländer Horn Day

Kristina Mascher-Turner and Geoffrey Winter are among the most renowned horn virtuosos of today and are recognized worldwide for their outstanding ability. Denise Tryon is also currently one of the most sought-after soloists, particularly as a low horn specialist. She agreed to the long trip from Baltimore to get to know the Sauerland Horn Festival. Jean-Christophe Naas from the German Wind Philharmonic rounded out the team of outstanding teachers.

As in past years, with much love and pedagogical skill, Chris Brigham (Folkwang University of the Arts) and Lukas Krämer (Pro Musica Sacra) led a course for 15 young “future hornists” in two groups. Education specialist Lena Dawidowski and supervisor Marco Hildebrand accompanied the junior project of the Sauerland Horn Festival, ensuring a fun and safe environment for the young musicians.

Klaus Fehr (Fehr French Horns, the Netherlands), Harm Roestenberg (Willson Band Instruments, Switzerland), and Norbert Riedel (Music Kontor Overath) took over the international horn exhibits. Riedel represented Hans Hoyer Horns (Germany). All three demonstrated the innovative ideas and the special craft of horn building that distinguishes these manufacturers.

The theme of the musical program was “Heroes, Tales, and Myths” and included several pieces that were especially arranged for the Sauerland Horn Workshop. At the beginning of this year, talented horn player and arranger Josef Kahle started working on enriching the festival‘s repertoire with tailor-made heroic film music.

Horn Orchestra

After kicking off with a large horn orchestra rehearsal on Friday evening, Saturday morning’s session emphasized ensemble playing in groups of 8-10 horn players. The instructors had the responsibility of rehearsing and preparing at least one piece for the final concert with their smaller ensembles.

The program for Saturday afternoon comprised master classes and private lessons. Each participant had the opportunity to sign up for a lesson with the guest instructors in order to ask for tips and tricks, as well as to put them into practice. At the same time, the instrument exhibitors gave a lecture. Klaus Fehr of Fehr French Horns answered the participants’ questions and was also able to offer advice on all kinds of matters. After the dress rehearsal for the ensembles, all the instructors met together, professionals and very ambitious amateurs, to rehearse an extremely challenging work: the film music from “Braveheart” - a work demanding the highest level of playing - a composition spanning over 4 octaves!

So large an audience streamed into the concert on Sunday morning that extra chairs had to be brought in, and every last seat was filled.
The horn orchestra got off to a heroic start with the theme to “Star Trek: Voyager,” taking the audience on a distant journey through the galaxy and through the world of the sound of the horn. After the Baroque “Sonata Pian e Forte” by Gabrieli for two antiphonal horn choirs came “Robert the Bruce,” a composition about the fight to free Scotland.

Future Hornists with Lecturers

The “Future Hornists” kicked off the smaller ensemble portion of the program and reaped enthusiastic applause for their presentation. The ensembles that followed played (with passion) film music from “Harry Potter” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” as well as classical arrangements such as “Hunter’s Delight” and “Panis Angelicus.” With “Braveheart,” the team of teachers brought the ensemble portion of the concert to a rousing close, delighting the audience with skill and a lot of fun. After the film music medley “James Bond 007” and “Andreas Hofer” (a musical tribute to the Tyrolean freedom fighter), came the grand finale featuring all participants: the adult course, “future hornists,” and teachers all played the wonderful sonorous canon, “Dona Nobis Pacem.”

The final concert was presented under the alternating conducting baton of Kristina Mascher-Turner, Denise Tryon, Geoffrey Winter, Jean-Christophe Naas, and Mathias Pfläging. Each of them brought out their own vision of sound, phrasing, and articulation with this extraordinary ensemble. The participants, teachers, and organizers all agreed: it was a successful conclusion to a memorable horn festival, in which music and passion, paired with fun and great conversation, built bridges between people of different ages and origins.

The 9th Sauerland Horn Festival in 2018 already has its first registrations, and the first instructors have been secured, so that the horn symposium from September 21-23, 2018 in the heart of Sauerland will once again be a highlight for all participants, teachers, and exhibitors.

Translation: KMT

English version

Impartir clases en Gran Canaria/Canarias/España

Desde que llegue a la orquesta filarmonica de gran canaria (www.ofgrancanaria.com) en 1989, enseguida comencé a impartir clases de trompa en la academia de la orquesta. Tuve el privilegio de tener muy talentosos alumnos, como Antonio Hernandez (actualmente solista de trompa en la banda municipal de música de las palmas de gran canaria) y Raul Ortiz (colega y solista de trompa en la orquesta filarmonica de gran canaria). Durante sus estudios, Raul y Antonio también tuvieron la suerte de ser becarios de la Orquesta Filarmonica de GC. Tocaban unas dos semanas al mes cada uno, al menos una obra del programa de cada semana, o tocaban en algún titulo de opera o concierto escolar etc.

Les hice conocer/estudiar el maravilloso libro - The Art of French Horn Playing - de Philip Farkas y otros grandes libros y les obligaba a atender todos los conciertos de la orquesta filarmonica de gc y también a disfrutar de las mas grandes/espectaculares orquestas, durante el famoso festival internacional de música de canarias (enero y febrero de cada año) donde escucharon orquestas como: Pittsburgh Symphony, Cincinnatti Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Montreal Symphony, London Symphony, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, WDR Sinfonie orchester/, NDR Sinfonie Orchester, Sinfonie Orchester des Dayerischen Rundfunks, Munich Phil, Berlin Phil, Vienna Phil, Deutsches Sinfonie Orchester Berlin, etc., etc.