The Horn Call Podcast

Join us in Episode 70 for a conversation with Dr. Derek J. Wright!  Derek plays 3rd horn with the award-winning Dallas Winds and in the West Texas Symphony. He has performed with several major orchestras including the Fort Worth Symphony and the Dallas Symphony. Dr. Wright is also a co-owner of Houghton Horns. He has contributed to the design of horns and mouthpieces for the Verus brand and frequently speaks on instrument design and acoustics at various educational institutions.

Episode Highlights

• Horn playing journey, education, influences, etc.
• Studying with Kazimierz Machala at the University of Illinois, followed by Masters at University of Minnesota, Doctorate at Arizona State University
• Moving to Texas, getting started with Houghton Horns, and eventually becoming a co-owner
• Houghton Horns Retail Shop and Repair Shop are two different businesses
• “Bad practice is worse than no practice…”
• Horn/mouthpiece design
• Marketing, communication, and other aspects of the business
• Skills learned as a musician that have been helpful in business, and vice-versa
• Upcoming projects/developments
• New Houghton Horns building with concert hall
• Importance of the IHS to you and Houghton Horns
• “I need to always learn…”
• National Association of Music Merchandisers
• National Association of School Music Dealers, Inc
• Molly Gebrian, Learn Faster, Perform Better: A Musician's Guide to the Neuroscience of Practicing
• The Savvy Musician by David Cutler

Our guest for this episode of The Horn Call podcast is Wojciech Kamionka, the host of IHS 58 in Poland!

Episode Highlights

• Musical journey, current teaching position
• IHS58 preparations, news/updates
• What IHS58 attendees can expect
• Musical life in Poland, opportunities for horn players
• Polish Music Edition: New method book 
• Scales and Arpeggios book: Penderecki Academy Press

Our guest for this episode of The Horn Call Podcast is the ebullient Heidi Oros! 

Heidi professional freelance hornist in the Finger Lakes area and is a former second hornist with La Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México. Heidi is a founding member (2006) of the woodwind ensemble, “i venti dementi,” and has been the hornist with the Swamp College Brass Quintet since 2007. Most recently, she joined the Lake Effect Winds, a woodwind quintet situated in Ithaca. Heidi earned her BM and MM at Ithaca College. She teaches private horn lessons in Trumansburg.

Episode Highlights

• Personal journey on the horn, important teachers/inspirations along the way
• Keys to Transposition Book: https://www.keystotransposition.com/
• Performing in Mexico
• Organizing performances of Lionheart's Call by James Naigus to honor healthcare workers: jamesnaigus.com
• Taking time off and coming back to the horn
• High Range Magic: https://marsgelfo.com/hrm-overview/
• Zoom Meetings with Jack Covert/Memorial Concert
• Importance of the IHS, symposiums, community, etc.

Our guest for Episode 67 is the incredible Scott Schiffer Leger! Widely known for his fun and educational videos, Scott is a member of the Louisville Orchestra and is in high demand as clinician, teacher, and soloist.

Episode Highlights

• Balancing a career and lots of other obligations
• Performing in the New World Symphony
• Early video work, getting into social media
• Learning new skills, saying yes!
• “Experience is valuable”
• Shoutout to Jennifer Montone!
• Having fun playing the horn, taking away the stigma of high and low range
• How has content creation changed over the last few years
• “AI has changed the name of the game.”
• Importance of not taking yourself too seriously

Our guest for Episode 66 is Christopher Brigham! Chris is an American horn player and educator who is currently living in Cologne, Germany, with an active freelance career and private teaching studio. He is the author of "Olga’s Last Call: The Horns of Auschwitz" in the April 2025 issue of The Horn Call. 

Episode Highlights

• Early studies with Mike Harcrow, Karen Houghton
• Studying at West Texas A&M University, then Hartt School (David Wakefield)
• Studying in Germany (Essen, Detmold)
• Recovering from focal dystonia
• Auditions in Germany
• Switching to an Alexander 103 horn
• Klaus Fehr Horns: https://fehr-frenchhorns.com/
• Teaching/Freelancing in Germany
• https://www.muvac.com
• Article in The Horn Call, Olga’s Last Call: The Horns of Auschwitz
• Conducting an enthusiast horn ensemble at IHS symposia

Join me in Episode 65 for a conversation with the amazing Kristina Mascher-Turner! 

Episode Highlights

• Early inspirations, musical and otherwise
• Early training on the horn
• Attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison and studying with Douglas Hill
• “You have to fall in love with fundamentals.”
• Studying/Working/Living in Europe
• Advice for horn players looking to study/work abroad
• Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra
• Work with the American Horn Quartet (hornquartet.com), chamber music
• AHQ Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBz4drOokaM
• New teaching position in Ghent, Belgium: KASK & Conservatorium School of Arts in Ghent schoolofartsgent.be
• Favorite exercises for the horn, teaching philosophy, etc.

Our guest for Episode 64 is the amazing Ken Pope! Ken is the owner of Pope Horns and has been a member of the IHS Advisory Council.

Episode Highlights

• Early Musical Journey and Transition to Horn Repair
• Career in Instrument Repair and Sales
• Instrument Maintenance and Repair: The single most important maintenance tip for brass instruments is to oil the valves.
• Balancing Performance and Business
• Advice for Aspiring Repairers/Retailers
• Current State of the Business and Future
• The International Horn Society

Join us in Episode 63 for a conversation with the great Randy Gardner! A member of the IHS Advisory Council, Gardner is currently Artist-In-Residence at Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance.  Following a distinguished tenure as Professor of Horn and Chair of the Winds, Brass, and Percussion Department at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), he was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus. 

Episode Highlights

• Early career and inspirations, musical and otherwise
• Studying with Philip Farkas, Chris Leuba, Bill Adam
• Leuba, A Study of Musical Intonation
• 50 years of service with Philadelphia Orchestra
• Sitting next to Mason Jones in Philadelphia Orchestra *Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjfE0iWguwE&list=OLAK5uy_kiTaEimus2uI3DFtx5Sj69usbM8eEos5k&index=2
• Importance of visualization
• Teaching philosophy, advice for new professors/teachers
  • Natalie Douglass Grana, A Singing Approach to Horn Playing
  • Bruce Adolphe, The Mind’s Ear
  • “Would you study with you?”
  • “Blow a long tone through the horn.”
  • “Be a virtuoso person.”
• Books, other publications, etc.
• Legacy Horn Experience https://www.legacyhornexperience.com/
• Legacy Horn Experience mouthpiece
• Paul Basler, Four Hymn Tune Settings
• Kendall Betts Horn Camp
• Serving on the Advisory Council, importance of the HIS
• Modular Music Masterclasses: https://randygardnerhorn.com/
• https://randygardnerhorn.com/modular_music_masterclasses.htm

Our guest for Episode 62 is the one and only Richard Todd, a veteran of the Los Angeles recording studios, professor at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, and member of the IHS Advisory Council.

Episode Highlights

• Early Musical Exposure
• Early Influences and Mentors
• Transition from Orchestral to Studio Work
• Studying with Waldemar Linder
• Studying with Vince DeRosa
• Collaboration with Gunther Schuller
• Jazz Influences
• John Graas
• Entry into LA Studio Recording and Changes in the LA Studio Industry
• Teaching Philosophy
• https://www.richardtoddmusic.com/the-art-of-practicing
• Longevity in Horn Playing: "The one thing that will never let you down physically in your playing career... is your air. Your air never has a bad day."
• Collaboration with Hoyer Horns
• Involvement with the International Horn Society

Welcome to the fourth and final installment of our Summer 2025 series of short Bonus Episodes! At IHS40 (2008), hosted by Susan McCullough and Jesse McCormick at the Lamont School of Music in Denver, Colorado, Honorary Member Douglas Hill organized a series of four panel discussions, entitled "Pedagogical Pearls." The theme of this session was "Performance Needs; Specific Approaches." The presenters and topics are:

• Jeffrey Agrell: Ego and the horn player
• Jonathan Stoneman: Practice routines and his online survey.
• Douglas Lundeen: "Toward a Bel Canto Approach to the Horn"
• Bruno Schneider: European Conservatories
• Audience Q&A with Bruno Schneider, Douglas Lundeen, and Jeffrey Agrell

For more archived audio from past symposiums, visit Symposium Highlights on the IHS website.