The Horn Call Podcast

Welcome to 2022 everyone! My guest for the first episode of the New Year is Larry Williams!

Hornist Larry Williams has distinguished himself as a multifaceted performing and recording artist, teacher and administrator. Williams is currently Principal Horn of American Studio Orchestra, Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra, Sphinx Symphony Orchestra, and a member of the Lyric Brass Quintet, Rooftop Wind Quintet, and Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass. 

Williams formerly served as Principal Horn of The New World Symphony Orchestra and has performed with the Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras, among others. His wide range of musical styles include: solo & chamber repertoire, orchestral, jazz, contemporary, film, and commercial music.  

Williams has performed on tours of the US, Russia, China, Japan, and UK, and has performed with Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Arturo Sandoval, and others. An active soloist and recitalist, Williams has premiered and recorded several horn concerti including: Concerto for Horn and Wind Ensemble by composer Thomas Bough, Black Forest Concerto for Horn and Orchestra by composer James Schroeder, and has recorded several solo and chamber music albums.

Equally passionate about education, Williams currently serves as Adjunct Professor of Horn at Washington Adventist University, and is the Director of DMV Horn Academy. Williams served on the faculty of The Peabody Conservatory, Florida International University, and served as Assistant Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs at Johns Hopkins University. Larry Williams is a Yamaha Performing Artist/Clinician, and performs exclusively on Yamaha Custom Horns.

• Episode Highlights

My guest for the final episode of 2021 is Dr. Daren Robbins, Instructor of Horn at Mahidol University in Thailand, and the creator of hornexcerpts.org

Daren Robbins has been on the faculty of the College of Music at Mahidol University (Bangkok, Thailand) since 2008, where he teaches horn, brass literature and pedagogy, coaches chamber music, and performs with BrassArts Bangkok, the Mahidol Faculty Woodwind quintet, and the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also an active member of the International Horn Society where he serves as Regional Coordinator for Thailand. For ten years, he served as Editor of the IHS Online Music Sales program. Daren maintains an active and multi-faceted performance career, and has conducted solo recitals and masterclasses at universities throughout the U.S. and Asia as well as performed and presented at International Symposiums in Australia, Europe and the U.S. He is the creator of the website hornexcerpts.org, which has become the most frequently visited horn-related website on the internet.

Episode Highlights

• Moving to Thailand, teaching at Mahidol University

Join us for a very special Holiday Bonus Edition of The Horn Call Podcast! This interview with Gail Williams was recorded at the 2019 Western Horn Festival hosted by Dr. Jena Gardner at Western Illinois University.

My guest for Episode 16 is J. Bernardo Silva, a member of the Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música, horn professor at the University of Aveiro and at Espinho’s Professional Music School, and Vice-President of the International Horn Society!

Episode Highlights

• Trompas Lusas Horn Quartet

Join me for a conversation with Radegundis Tavares, President of The International Horn Society!

Radegundis Tavares has been developing a career of important accomplishments. He was the first president of the Brazilian Horn Association and has recorded the first CD of a Brazilian brass player playing standard European classical repertoire, entitled “Universal”, as much as the first CD featuring improvisation on the Horn by a Brazilian player, entitled “Radegundis Tavares”. Radegundis hosted the first two Brazilian Horn Meetings and the first International Horn Symposium in Latin America – IHS49. 

He has been premiering many works for Horn in a great variety of formations, specially Brazilian Music from distinguished Brazilian composers such as José Ursicino da Silva “Maestro Duda”, J. Orlando Alves, Marcílio Onofre, Liduino Pitombeira and Eli-Eri Moura – many of these Works were dedicated to Radegundis. He has acted as a soloist playing traditional repertoire, virtuosic works and Brazilian popular music. 

Besides his performances as soloist and chamber musician, Radegundis played as a guest with many orchestras. Since 2008 he is full time professor of Horn at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte and has released in June of 2019 his third solo CD entitled “Sounds from my home”. Radegundis’ recordings can be found on main streaming platforms. 

Episode Highlights

• Current teaching and performing positions

Join me in Episode 2 of Season 2 for a discussion with composer and pianist Catherine Likhuta!

Catherine is an Australian-based composer, pianist and recording artist. Her music exhibits high emotional charge, programmatic nature and rhythmic complexity. Catherine’s pieces have been played extensively around the world, including highly prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall (Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage), Glyndebourne Opera House (Organ Room), five International Horn Symposiums and two World Saxophone Congresses, as well as many festivals and conferences. Her works have enjoyed performances by prominent symphony orchestras (such as Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra of the National Radio of Ukraine), chamber ensembles (such as Atlantic Brass Quintet, Ensemble Q, NU CORNO and U.S. Army Field Band Horns) and soloists (including former president of the North American Saxophone Alliance Griffin Campbell and president of the International Horn Society Andrew Pelletier). Catherine has held residencies at Tyalgum Music Festival, North Carolina NewMusic Initiative, University of Missouri Kansas City, University of Georgia and other institutions. She is a two-time winner of the International Horn Society Composition Contest (virtuoso division) and a recipient of several awards, including two grants from the Australia Council for the Arts. Her music can be heard on Albany, Cala, Equilibrium and Summit Records.

Episode Highlights

• How she ended up in the US, then Australia

We kick off Season 2 of the Horn Call Podcast with Yasmeen Richards, a free-lance musician based in Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia, and teacher of horn at the Peabody Preparatory and Baltimore Symphony’s OrchKids. Yasmeen is also acting president and co-founder of the Chromatic Brass Collective.

Episode Highlights

• Growing up in Southern California

Join us in Episode 12 for a conversation with Robert Lee Watt, who was a member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic horn section for 37 years and an active studio musician. Bob was the first African-American hornist hired by a major symphony orchestra in the United States. 

Episode Highlights

• Musicians supporting one another during COVID-19

Join me in Episode 11 for a conversation with Douglas Hill, Emeritus Professor of Music-Horn at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, past President of the IHS, and former member of the IHS Advisory Council.

Episode Highlights

• Retiring from UW-Madison, remaining musically active post-retirement (Professor Hill retired from UW-Madison in 2011)

Join us for a discussion with Dr. Jeffrey Snedeker, Editor of a forthcoming special volume dedicated to the 50th Anniversary of the IHS. Jeff is Professor of Horn at Central Washington University, and is a member of the IHS Advisory Council, Past President of the IHS, past Editor of The Horn Call, and was awarded the IHS Service Medal of Honor in 2020.

Episode Highlights

Overview of the 50th Anniversary volume