The Horn Call Podcast

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The Horn Call Podcast episodes

October 15Episode 78: The Alphorn Project with Stasia Forsythe Siena and Katy Ambrose
Join us in Episode 78 for a discussion with Stasia Forsythe Siena and Katy Ambrose about The Alphorn Project!
Episode Highlights
Background on Katy and Stasia
Benefits of playing the alphorn for horn players
Cormont Horn Camp
Sean Slatter’s The Alphorn Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-alphorn-podcast/id1562357417
Alphorn Association of North America: Alphorn Project: https://www.alphornassociation.org/
Sadie Glass, Natalie Douglass Grana, Stasia Siena, Katy Ambrose, Hazel Dean Davis, Anne Ellsworth
Shoutout to Jena Gardner
“The primary instrument is the player…”
Alphorn Events in October
Silver and Brass, Carson City, NV: https://silverandbrassmusic.com/alphorns.html
Mouthpiece Adapter for Horn Mouthpiece
Alpensong: https://www.alpensong.com/
“This is a tube…let’s make music on a tube.”
59 min
September 15Episode 77: Peter Luff
Our guest for this episode is Peter Luff, President of the International Horn Society!
Episode Highlights
Schooling, early influences
Switching from Trumpet to Horn
Queensland Symphony
Important influences on Australian horn playing
Hector MacDonald
Conducting experience
Importance of chamber music
Gunther Schuller
“If you need an injection of enthusiasm, attend a conference.”
Teaching Philosophy
Shout out to Ysolt Clark
“Be a musician that plays the horn.”
35 min
August 15Episode 76: Layan Atieh
Our guest for Episode 76 is Layan Atieh, hornist with Seraph Brass, and the newly appointed horn professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison!
Episode Highlights
Studying with Robert Rearden at Peabody Conservatory and Nathaniel Silberschlag at the Cleveland Institute of Music
“There’s a bigger goal beyond getting good at the instrument…”
Music as a means of creating cross-cultural connections
“The way you walk on stage is part of the performance…be intentional about it.”
Rehearsals/Programming for Seraph Brass
Audition process for Seraph Brass
Tour hacks
"Endurance is one of the hardest things about playing in a brass quintet."
“Thread and Chord: A Dialogue Between Fashion and Music”
Advice for students and early career professionals on balancing a busy career with life and other commitments. “You have to be ok with not being great at everything all the time…”
Role of the International Horn Society, International Women’s Brass Conference, other organizations
Upcoming projects: Recordings, Tours, Lemon Stick Trio: Voice, Horn, and Piano recording
51 min
July 15Episode 75: Xiao-Ming Han
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
57 min
June 15Episode 74: Benjamin Lieser
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/
49 min
May 15Episode 73: Elizabeth Freimuth
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
53 min
April 15Episode 72: Matias Piñera
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.
53 min
March 15Episode 71: Kate Caliendo
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
[email protected]
47 min
February 01Episode 70: Dr. Derek J. Wright
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
1 hr 2 min
January 15Episode 69: Wojciech Kamionka
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
45 min

About The Horn Call Podcast

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The official podcast of the International Horn Society. This is a monthly podcast featuring interviews with Horn Call authors, archived audio from past IHS symposia, and other news and updates in the…