2026 Jon Hawkins Award Winner

Originally from Houston, Texas, Jaksen Vargas is currently an undergraduate student at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University where he studies with Professor Elizabeth Freimuth. Prior to attending Rice, he was a student at Interlochen Arts Academy where he spent two years studying under Dr. Lauren Hunt.

While at Interlochen, Jaksen was a finalist in the Interlochen Arts Academy Concerto Competition. His chamber group, the Interlochen Horn Quartet “Best Friends Quartet” were invited to participate in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. While on tour with the Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra, under Cristian Măcelaru, Jaksen had the privilege of playing principal horn on the premiere of Wynton Marsalis’s Concerto for Cello, featuring soloists Yo-Yo Ma and Tommy Mesa.

Mr. Vargas has had the privilege of attending Interlochen Arts Camp and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. He was the 2026 Interlochen Orchestral Scholarship recipient and received the full scholarship for BUTI for both the 2025 and 2026 season. Jaksen is honored to be the 2026 John Hawkins Memorial Scholarship recipient and would like to thank the family, friends and mentors who have guided him thus far.

Position(s) Announcement

The Horn Society needs coordinators for two of our very important programs. They are the Composition Contest and the Meir Rimon Commissioning Assistance Program. Randall Faust has been overseeing these areas and wishes to step down after many years of service. These are volunteer positions but are hugely important services to the Horn Society.

We would like for the coordinator of the Composition Contest to be an active composer. Each of these programs happen every other year, and in opposite years, so both projects will not be running during the same year. Also, Randall has offered to help the persons who step into these roles to have a smooth transition and will supply any information needed.

Thank you very much for considering these important services to the Horn Society!

More Information

Join Us in Kraków, Poland for the 58th International Horn Symposium

Registration is now open

The 58th International Horn Symposium will take place July 7-12, 2026 at the Krysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków, Poland, hosted by Wojciech Kamionka. ihs58info@gmail.com