The Horn Call Podcast

Join us in Episode 75 for a conversation with 2025 IHS Punto Award Winner Xiao-Ming Han! Xiao-Ming recently retired from the German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and returned to his native China to teach at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

Episode Highlights

• Growing up in China in the 1960s in a musical family
• Choosing between music and sports
• Attending conservatory in Beijing at age 14.
• Joining the China Philharmonic at age 17.
• Early meeting with Richard Mackey, replacing Richard Mackey at the last minute on Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony conducted by Seiji Ozawa.
• Leaving China at 18 to pursue horn at Tanglewood and the New England Conservatory.
• Studying in Germany and winning an orchestral position at the age of 21.
• Coming back to his roots in Shanghai as a professor to mentor the next generation of players
• Promoting the IHS in China

In Episode 74, we speak with Benjamin Lieser, the horn professor at the University of Central Florida and a member of the IHS Advisory council!

Episode Highlights

• Growing up in Florida, getting started in music and on the horn
• Switching from trumpet to horn
• Important Early Influences: Dean Cassels, William Robinson, William Capps
• Tallahassee Symphony Youth Orchestra
• Studying at Florida State University
• Interlochen with Randall Faust
• Graduate School at the University of Cincinnati with Randy Gardner
• Performing in Mexico
• Band directing, freelance career, adjunct teaching at Stetson University
• “There’s no such thing as part-time Middle School Band Directing.”
• Doctoral School at Florida State with Michelle Stebleton
• Teaching philosophy
• Balancing teaching with an active performance career
• Importance of the IHS/Serving on the Advisory Council
• IHS Scholarships and Awards: https://www.hornsociety.org/programs/awards-and-competitions
• Barbara Chinworth Project: https://www.hornsociety.org/programs/awards-and-competitions/barbara-chinworth-project
• Florida Horn Festival https://www.floridahornfest.com/

Our guest for Episode 73 is Elizabeth Freimuth, professor of horn in the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, former principal horn of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and a member of the IHS Advisory Council!

Episode Highlights

• Teaching full time at her Alma Mater, Rice University
• Differences between teaching full time and performing in an orchestra full time.
• Changes in teaching philosophy over the years
• Balancing analytical mindset vs. performance mindset
• Importance of the IHS
• International Horn Competition of America
• Technology and horn playing/teaching
• “It’s a very distracting world…”
• Cincinnati Symphony/Pops stories
• Keeping playing fundamentals in order

Join us in Episode 72 for a conversation with Matias Piñera, Solo horn of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra!

Episode Highlights

• Important influences
• Preparing for the Munich Philharmonic audition, audition process
• Living and working in Germany, and what he misses most about Chile
• Teaching position at the Mozarteum Academy.
• Balancing teaching and performing
• Latin Band Los Pitutos
  https://youtu.be/4EgTgsDeZww?si=6wHp40i6HM9ZZkGm
  developed new instrument
• How the International Horn Society been important in his career.

Our guest for Episode 71 is Kate Caliendo! Kate enjoys a diverse musical career of symphonic playing, chamber music, recording, soloing and teaching. She is currently Second Horn of the Jacksonville Symphony and has also held Fourth Horn positions with the Houston Symphony and San Antonio Symphony.

Episode Highlights

• Getting started on the horn
• Neurodivergence as a musician
• New teaching position: University of North Florida
• Round Top Music Festival
• A multi-faceted approach to modern careers: gigging, teaching, playing, social media
• “If you are making music, you are a musician.”
• New project: Moonflower, for unaccompanied solo Horn
• Charleston Horn Camp
• Maintaining Inspiration as an artist
• IHS importance
• Social Media: Kate Caliendo or Kate Caliendo Horn
• Katecaliendo.com
• Kateplayshorn@gmail.com

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