Andrew Pelletier
Internationally active horn soloist, chamber musician, and masterclass clinician, Andrew Pelletier enjoys solo playing, orchestral performance, and mentoring developing musicians. The First Prize winner of the 1997 and 2001 American Horn Competition, he has appeared often as a Featured Artist at IHS Symposiums. A Lifetime member of the IHS and the British Horn Society, Andy has served the IHS as President (2018-2021), host/coordinator of IHS53 (2021), Advisory Council member, Coordinator of Scholarships and Competitions, member of the Digital E-Newsletter committee, and Ohio Area Representative.
Dedicated to new music and the collaboration between performer and composer, Andy has commissioned and premiered over fifty new works for the horn as a solo voice, by composers including Samuel Adler, David Crumb, Randall Faust, Katherine Likhuta, Anne McGinty, Roger Reynolds, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Kerry Turner.
As a chamber musician, Andy performs with Southwest Chamber Music in California, the Motor City Brass Quintet in Detroit, and others. As an orchestral performer, he is the principal horn of the Michigan Opera Theatre, and has performed as guest principal horn for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony, the Toledo Symphony, and Toledo Opera. He spent almost a decade as an active freelancer in Los Angeles and can be heard on film soundtracks and television movies.
His pedagogical articles have been published by the IHS, the Norwegian Horn Society, the Texas Bandmaster’s Association, and the New York Brass Conference. He holds a BM degree from the University of Southern Maine, and MM and DMA degrees from the University of Southern California, studying with James Decker, John Boden, David Jolley, trumpeter Roy Poper, Michael Thompson, and Gail Williams.
Andy has been Professor of Horn of the College of Musical Arts at Bowling Green State University, in Bowling Green, Ohio, since 2004, where he also serves as the Coordinator of the Brass Area. He was named a Professor of Creative Arts Excellence at BGSU in 2020. Andy plays exclusively on horns by Paxman of London, and mouthpieces by PHC London.
Dan Phillips
The IHS has depended on Dan since 2007 for the ever-more-important website management. The term “master” appropriately applies to Dan. He also operates The Jury-System™, a web application for administering college music juries. He was host of the 2013 International Horn Symposium in Memphis.
Dan is Professor Emeritus of Horn at the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music of The University of Memphis, having retired in 2019. Before arriving at Memphis in 1999, he taught at Southern Illinois University and Iowa State University. He holds degrees in horn performance from Michigan State University and the University of Notre Dame and has done additional graduate study at Indiana University.
In addition to his teaching duties, Dan played in the Memphis Brass Quintet, the Memphis Woodwind Quintet, and the university's faculty Birth of the Cool Ensemble. Outside of the university, he played in the PRIZM Ensemble, a mixed instrument chamber music group, the Eroica Ensemble, and frequently as substitute or extra with the Memphis Symphony.
Dan’s background as a hornist includes extensive experience in solo, chamber ensemble, symphonic, studio, and operatic idioms throughout the US and in Europe, Brazil, and Japan. He has a broad background as a conductor, arranger, and teacher. He served three terms as Visiting Professor at Southern Illinois University's campus in Nakajo, Japan; and in the spring of 1992 he was an Artist-in-Residence at the Latvian Music Academy in Riga.
Dan was awarded the Service Medal of Honor during the IHS 53 remote symposium in 2021.
Jeffrey Snedeker
Jeffrey Snedeker epitomizes service to the horn community and the IHS. He has served on the Advisory Council (2003-2010, 2016-2021), including terms as president (2006-2010, 2016-2018), edited The Horn Call (1998-2003), edited Music Reviews (2003-2016), curated the 2020 Virtual Workshop, and is editor of the anniversary book on the history of the IHS, published in 2021. On a regional level, Jeff has been on the music faculty of Central Washing University in Ellensburg since 1991, co-founded the Northwest Horn Society, hosted the Northwest Horn Workshop several times and supported other hosts, and is engaged with regional performing ensembles, educational institutions, and community outreach.
Jeff holds a BA from Heidelberg College (1980), MM in performance from the University of Michigan (1981), MA in music history from Ohio State University (1985), and a DMA from the University of Wisconsin Madison (1991). He has published more than 50 articles, including entries in the New Grove Dictionary, and has released five solo CDs with music for natural horn and horn in jazz.
Jeff won First Place in the Natural Horn Division of the 1991 American Horn Competition and is principal horn with the Yakima Symphony. He is a member of the CWU Faculty Wind Quintet and the CWU Faculty Brass Quintet, and directs the CWU Brass Choir and CWU Horn Ensemble. He has played with many orchestras regionally and around the country, and on film and video game scores. He gives concerto performances, traditional and natural horn recitals, and jazz gigs across the US and around the world.
Jeff serves on the Board of Directors of the Historic Brass Society and the Washington Music Educators Association Advisory Board. Honors include the 2006 CWU Faculty Member of the Year, 2008 CWU Phi Kappa Phi Scholar of the Year, 2012 WMEA Higher Education Music Educator of the Year, CWU Distinguished University Faculty for Service, 2014 Washington State Representative Timm Ormsby Faculty Citizenship Award, the 2014 National Phi Kappa Phi Artist Award, and in 2018, induction into the WMEA Hall of Fame.
Jeff was awarded the Service Medal of Honor in 2020.
Elaine Braun
Elaine Braun has been active in the IHS in myriad ways since the early years: contributing to The Horn Call with articles and poems from the 1970s, serving on the Advisory Council (1982-1988 and 2015-2017), as Secretary-Treasurer (1983-1986), as the first IHS Representative for Canada (1981-1998), as US Area Representatives Coordinator (2010-2019), and currently as North America Area Representatives Coordinator (starting in 2019) and Membership Coordinator (since 2017). She is the epitome of a loyal contributing member of the horn community.
Elaine received her Bachelor of Music Education degree at the University of Buffalo where she studied horn with Lowell Shaw, and her Master’s degree in Music Education at the University of Western Ontario (London), where she also taught horn and conducted the Horn Ensemble. While in London, she played in Western’s Faculty Chamber Orchestra, sang in the Gerald Fagan Singers, and played harp in Western’s New Music Ensemble. She also taught at the Western Conservatory of Music and was principal horn in the Fanshawe Orchestra.
While still living in Canada she worked for the Buffalo Philharmonic, first in Operations/Education then as Assistant Librarian. She also conducted the Fort Erie Legion Band and the Fort Erie Chorale, and sang in the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus and Chamber Chorus. Then she became General Manager of the Maryland Symphony in Hagerstown, where she played in the Hagerstown Concert Band, sang in the Hagerstown Chorale, and conducted the New Horizons Band of Hagerstown. She moved to Erie PA to be General Manager of the Erie Philharmonic, and Conductor/Music Director of the Erie Philharmonic Chorus. She also played in the Edinburgh Concert Band and a horn eEnsemble in Westfield NY.
Elaine currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee, where she plays in the Nashville Community Concert Band, sings in the Vanderbilt Community Chorus, and teaches at Croft Middle School – in addition to her continuing responsibilities with the IHS.
Heidi A. Vogel
Heidi A. Vogel (born 1956) earned a BM degree from SUNY-Fredonia State College, after which, her career took many twists and turns that prepared her for work with the International Horn Society.
Heidi’s first “real” job was selling mule rides at Grand Canyon National Park. She also taught K-12 Music at the National Park School, and worked and trained in the Fred Harvey accounting offices. She moved to Juneau, Alaska, to take a summer job at a river rafting company and stayed on as their bookkeeper. She then worked for the Alaska State Legislature in their Payroll and Personnel Office. After seven years, she took a part-time position with the Secretary of the Alaska State Senate and later became the Senate Secretary, which allowed her to take on part-time work as Executive Secretary with the IHS in 1997.
Heidi has continued to play her horn in many community orchestras in Alaska, Hawaii, and now in New Mexico. She also served on the board and as President of the Juneau Symphony.
Heidi has been the chief administrator of the IHS for the past 22 years. When she began, the job was primarily membership renewals mailed in by check, maintenance of the member database, and a few IHS programs. She has assisted seven society presidents and three editors of The Horn Call in maintaining and expanding the organization, as well as helping other staff and Advisory Councils develop, combine, and achieve their visions for the future of the Society. Under Heidi’s tenure, the Executive Secretary position increased in job duties and time to become a full-time position (re-titled Executive Director in 2015), involving the current variety of scholarship, composition, and commissioning assistance programs, several media outlets, an online system for membership recordkeeping and enrollment, board meeting preparation, contract drafts and reviews, promotion and design work, event assistance, bookkeeping, research, committee and project assistance, fundraising, non-profit compliance, and legal reviews and recommendations.
Heidi has become a source of institutional knowledge for the last two decades of the International Horn Society, and is a proven excellent cat herder. The IHS Advisory Council recognizes her many selfless contributions to the society with the 2018 IHS Service Medal of Honor.
William Scharnberg
William (Bill) Scharnberg is a distinguished teacher, performer, and Editor of The Horn Call (since 2003). He has served as IHS President (1990-1992), Advisory Council member (1986–1992, 1999–2003), Workshop Coordinator (1986-2004), Music Review Editor (1981-2003), and host for two IHS Horn Symposia (1991 and 2012). As Publication Editor, Bill serves on the Advisory Council ex officio.
Bill joined the faculty of the University of North Texas in 1983, becoming a Regents Professor in 2002. Previously he taught at the University of Oklahoma, Pacific Lutheran University, the Royal Music Academy of Stockholm, and Central Missouri State University. He has published many journal articles and four editions of 18th and 19th century works for horn.
Bill was principal horn of the Dallas Opera Orchestra for 32 years and continues as principal horn of the Wichita Falls Symphony. He has been and continues to be involved in chamber music venues. He has been principal horn of the Tri-City Symphony (Iowa-Illinois), Tacoma Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Dallas Ballet, Dallas Bach Society, Royal Opera of Stockholm, East Texas Symphony, Classical Music Seminar (Austria), Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, and Flathead Festival Orchestra. He has been a soloist with several regional orchestras and has appeared as an artist at three International Horn Symposia and several regional horn workshops. He was awarded the Service Medal of Honor in 2017.
Nancy Joy
Nancy Joy’s infectious enthusiasm has led the IHS since 2005 to symposiums across the US and around the world, including to South Africa, Switzerland, Australia, Brazil, and Belgium. In addition, she has brought her New Mexico State University horn choir, Corno Crew, to participate in many symposiums, in 2000 memorably performing on the Great Wall in China. Nancy served on the Advisory Council for two terms (2003-2009) and has chaired the IHS Scholarship Committee.
Nancy’s career has combined performance and education along with her active service to the horn society. She received a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Wittenberg University School of Music in Springfield, Ohio, studying with Richard Chenoweth, and a Master of Music in Horn Performance at New Mexico State University, studying with Warner Hutchison. Nancy is currently horn professor at New Mexico State University. At the same time, she is principal horn of the Las Cruces Symphony at NMSU and second horn of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra and El Paso Opera Company.
Nancy is also a soloist, often performing with educational organizations, and participates in regional and international conferences, including those of the New Mexico Music Educators Association, the International Women's Brass Conference, and the IHS. In her private studio, she teaches beginning horn students through high school level, and she conducts clinics in Breathing Gym and Interactive Video Audition Service International around the US and the world.