Morris Secon (1923-2010)
Morris Secon was an inspiration. He was honored as Professor Emeritus at the Eastman School of Music in 2004, but he was perhaps better known to young players as the guy who would tell stories after hours at horn workshops and symposiums in rep sessions. He talked about occasions where he had jumped off a bus on impulse and ended up with a job. His most famous story was about winning an audition by playing a difficult Wagner bass clef E horn solo (Die Walküre) in F − the conductor (Reiner) did not notice the discrepancy and hired him then and there for the Pittsburgh Symphony.
Over the years, and especially in his retirement, Morrie developed a program called The Magic of Music, which featured various types of horns (animal horns, conch shells, alphorn, hose, natural horn, double horn) telling the story of music, and tailored to specific audiences (students, senior citizens, business people, musicians, etc.).
Morrie was born in 1923 and raised in Philadelphia, where his parents owned a bakery. A cousin, David Burchuk, started him on trumpet at age 10. He changed to horn at age 13 on the advice of a school teacher. He studied with Arthur Geithe, who had been brought over from Germany to play principal horn in the Metropolitan Opera, after Geithe came into the bakery and learned by chance that Morrie played horn. Geithe encourage Morrie to sing, and to sing on the horn, which became a hallmark of Morrie’s horn playing and teaching style. Morrie later studied with Lorenzo Sansone at the Juilliard School. He had one lesson with Joseph Franzl, who told him to put his horn in the case and never open the case again. The next summer found them both playing in the same section at Chautauqua. Morrie had played the year before in New Orleans, and the following year in Pittsburgh.
Morrie became principal horn of the Rochester Philharmonic at the age of 21, staying for 15 years (1944-1959) and teaching at Eastman (1950-1959). One day in 1949, his wife came home from a yard sale with stoneware by Glidden Parker, a noted designer. Morrie found out that Parker had barns filled with seconds. He made an agreement with Parker, convinced his brother to open a store in New York City, and soon the Pottery Barn became successful and expanded. Morrie left Rochester, free-lancing in New York City and teaching at Queens College and the Mannes College of Music while working with the pottery business.
Getting back into music full-time in 1968, Morrie was co-principal of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra for one year, then became principal of the Rochester Philharmonic again (1969-1982). His designation as Professor Emeritus is confirmed with testimonials from such distinguished students as Meir Rimon, Dale Clevenger, Richard Sebring, Eli Epstein, and Barry Benjamin. After his retirement, Morrie spent much time giving hundreds of his Magic of Music presentations.
Morrie was honored with the Punto award at the 1997 International Horn Symposium in Rochester NY. Articles about him appear in the April 1985, November 1997, and October 2007 issues of The Horn Call.
John Zirbel
Wisconsin native John Zirbel was Principal Horn of the Montréal Symphony from 1978-2019, contributing to all the recordings the orchestra made over this 41-year period with bravura and musical conviction. Prior to joining the Montréal Symphony, he performed with the Denver Symphony and studied with John Barrows and Douglas Hill. He taught on the faculty at McGill University and the Aspen Music Festival for many years, and has several successful students. John was honored with the Punto Award at Montréal in 2023.
Jean Gaudreault
Jean Gaudreault performed as second and fourth horn in the Montréal Symphony from 1975 to 2016, and served as the orchestra's personnel manager from 2008-2023. A passionate and caring teacher, he has taught hundreds of students at McGill University, Conservatoire de Montréal, Université de Montréal, and Marianopolis College, many of whom now perform with orchestras throughout Canada and beyond. Most of the local players in Montréal studied with him at some point in their careers. He is also known as an avid baseball fan. Jean was honored with the Punto Award at Montréal in 2023.
Guy Carmichael
A native of Québec City, Canada, Guy Carmichael moved to Europe at the beginning of his career but later returned to Québec, where he played with the Montréal and Québec Symphony Orchestras and Les Violons du Roy and taught at the Québec Conservatoire and Université Laval for more than thirty years.
Guy studied with Hermann Baumann in the 1970s, then was principal horn in Essen for ten years. In the early 1980s, he founded the Brass Academy at the Domaine Forget de Charlevoix, a performing arts academy and festival in Saint-Irénée, Québec, where he was also the artistic director of the festival from 2004 to 2011. He has retired from teaching but still plays in various ensembles.
Guy was honored with the Punto Award at the 2023 IHS symposium in Montréal.
Ron Lemon (1937-2023)
Ron Lemon contributed to music and music education, principally in West Texas. He taught horn and brass methods at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas, from 1976 to 2008 and played principal horn in the Amarillo Symphony from 1976 to 2003.
Ron had deep roots in West Texas. He was born in 1935 and grew up in Lubbock, Texas, attending Lubbock High School and earning degrees in music education and performance at Texas Tech University. He played in the Lubbock Symphony horn section during high school and his years at Tech. His horn teachers included Guy Knowles, J.W. King, and Robert B. Taylor.
After leaving Texas Tech, Ron joined the US Navy Band in Washington DC, where he eventually served as principal horn and soloist. During his stint with the band, he performed for President Kennedy's inauguration and his funeral. Next he went to the New Orleans Philharmonic for five seasons, three as principal horn. He also performed one season as principal horn with the Mobile (Alabama) Symphony.
Returning to Texas Tech, Ron completed a Master of Music degree under Anthony Brittin (also a Punto Award recipient) and again performed with the Lubbock Symphony. He also studied horn with Barry Tuckwell, Philip Farkas, Dale Clevenger, and Abe Kniaz. He performed four summers as principal horn with the Brevard Music Festival Orchestra and twelve summers as principal horn and soloist with the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra. Before joining the faculty at WTAMU, he taught at Emporia State University in Kansas, where he performed and toured with the Mid-America Woodwind Quintet.
Ron’s son Jim played horn professionally in Cape Town, South Africa, with the Cape Town Symphony and Opera Orchestra, and also performed for eight months with the Barcelona (Spain) Symphony.
Ron was nominated for the Punto Award in 2012 by Bill Scharnberg, host of the International Horn Symposium in Denton TX.
Jonathan Luxton
Jonathan Luxton first picked up a coach horn at the age of 5. He played the trumpet at the age of 8 and by 12 was playing the French horn. His mother was his driving force, as she would encourage him to listen to classical music from a young age and to become a member of every local orchestra. Growing up in a rural area, Jonathan was fortunate to have the opportunity to study with Peter Kane (Bournemouth Sinfonietta) and Richard Thomas (Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra).
Jonathan studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Professor James Brown. During this time, he played principal horn with the European Youth Orchestra with Claudio Abbado and Daniel Barenboim, and the Snape Maltings Training Orchestra with Hugh Maguire. Before leaving for Portugal, professional experience included playing with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Opera North, Orchestra of the Royal Ballet, Cambridge Opera Group, recording with the BBC, among others.
At the age of 24 Jonathan accepted the position of principal horn in the Gulbenkian Orchestra, Lisbon, Portugal. For 31 years, he played a vast repertoire of music and genres, travelled the world with the orchestra, and had the opportunity to work with leading soloists and conductors. Jonathan has extensive experience playing with chamber groups from wind quintets and brass quartets to horn and piano duos, travelling throughout Europe playing recitals.
A great part of Jonathan’s passion has always been to inspire and mentor other musicians at all levels. Jonathan started to teach brass in the UK, and went on to teach horn at university-level in Portugal. He introduced the British method of French horn playing to Portugal where he developed the degree programs for horn Bachelor and Masters at universities. He was given the Punto Award in 2022.
Kristina Mascher-Turner
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| Photo by Frédérique Bouchard |
Kristina Mascher-Turner, former principal horn of the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra (Flemish Radio Orchestra), hails from Albany, Oregon and is once again based in Brussels. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Douglas Hill) and the Hanns Eisler Conservatory in Berlin (Kurt Palm) and also studied privately with Fergus McWilliam of the Berlin Philharmonic. Early in her career, she was engaged in various chamber and symphony orchestras, including the Odense Symfoniorkester in Denmark and three tours as principal horn with the Gustav-Mahler-Jugendorchester under the direction of Claudio Abbado, Pierre Boulez, and Kent Nagano. She played fulltime with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra for several years and is a regular guest with orchestras and ensembles around Europe.
She joined the American Horn Quartet in 2009, with whom she has toured and recorded extensively. Kristina is also a member of the Ni Ensemble of Luxembourg and forms with husband Kerry Turner the Virtuoso Horn Duo. Their critically-acclaimed CDs of works for two horns and chamber orchestra can be found on the Naxos and MSR Classics labels. Kristina has given masterclasses and performed in over thirty countries on six continents.
She served as Vice President of the International Horn Society from 2015-2021 and was editor of the IHS digital newsletter “Horn and More.” Horn aside, Kristina sings with a semi-professional vocal octet, has a passion for travel, food, and languages, and is a certified Reiki master. Kristina performs on a Ricco Kühn W393X triple horn. She was given the Punto Award in 2022.
Bohdan Šebestík
Bohdan Šebestík has been professor of horn and the martial art of Aikido at ESMAE (University of Music and Performing Arts, Porto) since 1995. With former students performing and teaching at a high level around the globe, his influence on the last two generations of Portuguese horn players is enormous.
Bohdan was born in Kroměříž in the former Czechoslovakia. He took up the horn following studies in piano and trumpet. From 1978 to 1982, he attended the Janáček Academy of Music (JAMU) University in Brno, where he completed his Master’s degree with Professor František Šolc.
He participated in several national competitions, including the Kraslice National Competition and the JAMU competition of Brno, where he won first prize. Soon afterward, Bohdan was the winner of several international horn competitions in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland.
Professor Šebestík held positions with the orchestra of the Armed Forces in Prague, the Brno Opera, and the Brno Philharmonic. He has been a member of the National Orchestra of Porto since 1994 (solo horn since 2001). He was given the Punto Award in 2022.
