Last Monday and Tuesday, April 13 and 14, Eastman’s horn studio hosted a residency by William VerMeulen, professor of horn at Rice University and principal horn of the Houston Symphony.
Horn student Chelsea Nelson reflected on VerMeulen’s visit: “Cars, Body-builders, Salami, and Big Bands; these probably aren’t topics featured in your average conservatory master class. Drawing connections to these seemingly random subject matters, Professor William VerMeulen was able to engage our creative minds to keep track of the global perspective. To say the least, VerMeulen certainly has a knack for drawing creative and entertaining connections from everyday life to Horn playing. For Eastman horn players the concept of “Transfer”– a technique in which you apply something you have learned from one experience to another non-related experience– is a resource our own Professor Kurau utilizes daily. This type of teaching asks the students to be worldly and interested in the ways the things outside of music impact what they do as musicians. In this way, VerMeulen instantly had our attention. He led an extremely succinct, fun, and insightful masterclass. Mr. VerMeulen’s class left me excited and empowered to use his tools in my own playing. Both Professor VerMeulen and Professor Kurau’s teaching complement each other so well, and we look forward to having Professor VerMeulen visit again.”
The schedule also included a group photograph with Professors Kurau and VerMeulen. Starting from the top and meandering down, the photo shown above includes: Caroline Baker, Chelsea Nelson, Ethan Mattingly, Robert Levine, Abby Black, Tyler Bjerke, Valerie Ankeney, Jonathan Dozois, Nikki LaBonte, Kyle Schober, Erin Futterer, Kara Miller, Emily Buehler, Bevin Flemming, William Bard, Katelyn Fridmann, Jackie Schober, William VerMeulen, and W. Peter Kurau.