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Published: 04 January 2012

The following individuals (listed alphabetically) have been nominated to serve a term on the IHS Advisory Council beginning after the 2012 international symposium. As you review the nominees listed below, consider the duties and responsibilities of the position. The Advisory Council (AC) is responsible for carrying out the aims and purposes of the Society, determines the policies and budget allocations for IHS programs, and elects additional AC members. AC members work via email, phone, and fax throughout the year and attend annual meetings at the international workshop.Vote for up to three nominees on the postcard found in the February, 2012 issue of The Horn Call (stamp required). Votes submitted by any other means, including email, will not be accepted. Ballots must be received by April 15, 2012.

Lisa O. Bontrager has performed throughout the US, Europe, and Japan and is currently active performing, touring, and recording with Millennium Brass, MirrorImage, the Pennsylvania Quintet, and the Brass Band of Battle Creek, for whom she plays the British tenor horn. As artist for Holton horns, she has been featured at the Mid-West Band and Orchestra Clinic, New York Brass Conferences, the New England Brass Conference, and symposiums of the IHS. She has also performed with the Baltimore Symphony, the Chautauqua Symphony, and the Rochester Philharmonic and is currently principal horn of the Pennsylvania Centre Orchestra and Music at Penn's Woods Festival. She has earned performance degrees from the University of Michigan and is currently Distinguished Professor of Music at Penn State University and teaches at the Interlochen Arts Camp. Bontrager may be heard on over twenty CD recordings. (Bontrager has served three terms on the Advisory Council: 1993-1995, 1996-1998, 2010-2012.)

Marian Hesse, a Grammy-winning hornist, has performed with the Chestnut Brass Company for 25 years. She has performed as principal horn with the Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, the Boulder Bach Festival, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra. She has more than a dozen recordings including the sound track of Ken Burns' The Civil War, the Mozart Orchestra recording of the music of William Herschel, and the Philadelphia Virtuosi recordings of the music of George Antheil and of Howard Hanson. She has presented master classes and recitals across the United States and abroad. A graduate of the Yale School of Music, Hesse has studied with Christopher Leuba, Jack Herrick, and Paul Ingraham. She serves on the Board of Directors of the International Horn Competition of America and is a member of the jury for the Jeju, Korea International Brass Competition. See arts.unco.edu/music/music_faculty/hesse.html and chestnutbrass.com (Hesse has served one term on the Advisory Council: 2010-2012.)

Leighton Jones was born in the village of Felinfoel, in Carmarthenshire, West Wales. At Grammar School, he was told - "play the French horn." He immediately fell in love with the instrument. Six months later he was principal horn of The Carmarthenshire County Youth Orchestra. From there he was chosen to play for the National Youth Orchestra of Wales and was their solo horn for six years. At nineteen he was playing with the then BBC Orchestra of Wales. He won a scholarship to the Royal Academy in London where he studied with Keith Whitmore and Alan Civil. For family reasons he returned to West Wales and an active freelance career, performing with several chamber ensembles and orchestras in Wales and the UK, including The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and the Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera. (Jones has served one partial term on the Advisory Council: 2011-2012.)

Ken Pope has had an eclectic career playing with artists from Lena Horne to Marilyn Horne. He performs regularly with the Boston Pops, Boston Ballet, Lake George Opera Festival, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and scores of Broadway shows. He has performed with Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Liza Minnelli, Jethro Tull, Andrea Bocelli, Chicago, and many others. In addition to performing with the many orchestras throughout New England, he has toured with both the Boston Symphony and the Pittsburg Symphony Orchestras. He also has had the honor of playing at Carnegie Hall with three different Orchestras in less than 10 days! In his "spare" time he runs Pope Instrument Repair – a customizing, building, and repair shop where he also designs and builds his own horns. (Pope has served one term on the Advisory Council: 2010-2012.)

Bruno Schneider, from Switzerland, began playing at the Music Conservatory in La Chaux-de-Fonds with Robert Faller. Having passed the Professional Capacity diploma there, he went on to study at the Music Academy in Detmold with Michael Hoeltzel, where he received a Virtuosity Certificate with distinction in 1981. After playing for 15 years as solo horn in Zürich, Munich, and Geneva in the Suisse Romande Orchestre, he now teaches at the Music Conservatory in Geneva and at the Musikhochschule in Freiburg. Since 2003 he plays solo horn in the Lucerne Festival Orchestra directed by Claudio Abbado. He is active as a soloist and as a chamber musician and has recorded a large part of the horn repertoire. Founder of the Académie de cor de La Chaux-de-Fonds and of the Swiss horn society, Bruno Schneider has served as vice president of the IHS and has hosted an IHS International Workshop. (Schneider has served two terms on the Advisory Council: 2003-2005, 2006-2008.).