The Eastman Horn Studio has a long and prestigious legacy dating back to the 1924 when Wendell Hoss was the inaugural Professor of Horn. His successors included Arkadia Yegudkin, Frederick Bradley, Morris Secon, Milan Yancich, and Verne Reynolds. W. Peter Kurau has served as Professor of Horn since 1995, and the horn program is enriched with the contributions and collaborations of adjunct horn faculty, including, Jacek Muzyk (Principal Horn, Buffalo Philharmonic), Derek Conrad [Instructor of Natural Horn], Maura McCune Corvington (2nd horn, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra) and Steven Laifer (4th horn, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.) Guest artists over the past several years have included Barry Tuckwell, Hermann Baumann, Dale Clevenger, Gail Williams, Esa Tapani, Elizabeth Freimuth, Mark Houghton, Froydis Ree Wekre, Michael Thornton, Radovan Vlatkovic, Kristy Morrell, Jeff Nelsen, Julie Landsman, Richard Seraphinoff, Adam Unsworth, Imani Winds, American Horn Quartet, and Boston Brass, among others. Eastman hosted the 29th Annual International Horn Symposium (1997), and the Sibley Music Library houses the Archive of the International Horn Society.
About the Horn Studio
We had the privilege and honor of hosting Nathanial Silberschlag (Principal Horn of the Cleveland Orchestra) here at Eastman for a day of horn activities on Feb. 13, 2024. Here is a photo taken after the horn studio master class. Mr. Silberschlag is in the front row holding his horn. Prof. Kurau immediately to his left. To his right are members of the RPO horn section who attended the class: Michael Stevens (RPO principal horn), Nate Ukens (3rd horn), and Steve Laifer (4th horn.)
Large Ensemble Experience
The horn students all participate in the School’s large ensembles, including the Eastman Philharmonia, Eastman Wind Ensemble, Eastman School Symphony Orchestra, Eastman Wind Orchestra, and Musica Nova. Traditionally, each of these ensembles presents 3-4 concerts each semester, and the horn part assignments are either assigned on a rotating, equitable basis, or determined by a screened, anonymous audition. In addition, students are very active in chamber music ensembles (such as wind quintet, brass quintet, horn quartet, brass trio, etc.) and In Horn Choir. [see below for further information]
Horn Curriculum
Horn students receive a weekly private lesson with the faculty, with 14-15 lessons per semester. Graduate students may provide supplemental instruction to undergraduate students at the request of Prof. Kurau, but never in lieu of instruction provided by the faculty. In addition, there is a weekly studio class exploring such topics as solo performances, mock auditions, orchestral section excerpts, fundamental playing principles, sectional rehearsals, recital previews, and pre-jury solo classes. Students may also opt to enroll supplemental courses in natural horn studies +/or orchestral audition groundwork.
Charles Valenza Historic Horn Collection
All horn students have access to the Charles Valenza Historic Horn Collection, a prestigious amalgam of 31 horns from the 18th to the 21st century. As were Chuck’s wishes, these horns (which supplement the rich horn inventory the School had already assembled) are not meant to be viewed solely in a museum setting, but rather to be resource materials for the students to be used in research and in performance. Photographs of some representative instruments from the Collection appear below.
Horn Choir
The Eastman Horn Choir was founded in 1968 by Verne Reynolds, Professor Emeritus of Horn at the Eastman School of Music, who served as its director until his retirement in 1995. From its inception, the Choir’s mission has been threefold: to provide an expanded ensemble experience for the horn students; to acquaint them (through transcriptions) of the breadth of quality repertoire (with a particular emphasis on the glorious vocal music of the German and Italian Renaissance) within our musical culture; and to encourage contemporary composers to create original works for multiple horns. In addition to compositions and commissions by such notable composers as Samuel Adler, Jeff Tyzik, John Cheetham, David Diamond, James Willey, Daniel Baldwin, Pamela Marshall, and Jennifer Bellor, the Choir’s repertoire in recent years has expanded to include transcriptions from the classical, romantic, and modern eras. Many of these transcriptions are the product of the creativity and entrepreneurship of current members and alumni of the horn studio.
The Choir has been featured on the “Eastman at Washington Square,” “Music at St. Andrew’s,” and “Music at St. John” series, on the annual Brass Cavalcade during Meliora Weekend, and on a biennial tribute to St. Hubert (patron saint of the hunt, from which the horn derives much of its repertoire) in a formal concert in the Eastman Theatre. In addition, the Choir is honored to be featured in an a annual holiday concert on “Live from Hochstein” (broadcast live on WXXI-FM 91.5, a National Public Radio affiliate.)
In 2002, the Choir was a featured ensemble (the only collegiate choir in the world so honored) at the 34th International Horn Symposium held in Lahti, Finland, where it presented three performances to critical and popular acclaim. As a result of its successes there, the Choir was invited to present three performances at the 36th International Horn Symposium, held in July 2004 in Valencia, Spain.
The 25 students within the Choir are enrolled as applied horn students at the Eastman School, and are pursuing collectively 5 various degrees and majors, and range from undergraduate students to doctoral students. Geographically diverse, they represent 14 different states, and 4 countries at present (2012).
