by Tommi Hyytinen

Finnish horn quartet The Golden Horns—featuring players Tuomo Eerikäinen, Jukka Harju, Tommi Hyytinen, and Tero Toivonen—has released the ensemble's second album, Witches in the Air. The disc is devoted exclusively to Finnish horn quartet music. Representing more traditional Finnish horn literature is the Little Quartet for Four Horns by Erkki Melartin. The other works were all commissioned by and composed for The Golden Horns. Together, they offer a richly varied and all-around picture of 21st-century Finnish repertoire for this ensemble.

The Golden Horns' album features two versions of one of the key works in Finnish quartet literature: the Little Quartet for Four Horns composed by Erkki Melartin in March 1936 and premiered in Helsinki in May of that year. The version heard on that occasion was not, however, exactly as Melartin had written it. Holger Fransman, its commissioner, felt that Melartin’s choice of F major (sounding B flat) was too difficult for the quartet in view of the range covered by the parts and arranged the work in the easier key of G major. He also made a few other minor changes. His arrangement remained in the active repertoire, and Melartin’s original version did not receive its first performance until 2018. Now, for the first time, both versions of the Little Quartet can be heard together: the beautiful sounding G major one by Fransman and the impressive orchestral F major one by Melartin.

In terms of the instrumentation and sound of the ensemble, really new and ear-opening pieces in the album are Juho Kangas' and Juhani Nuorvala's compositions for four natural horns of different keys. Witches in the Air by Kangas and Summer! by Nuorvala are both full of rich colors, interesting harmonies, and new special playing techniques. Other composers on the disc are Eero Hämeenniemi, Matthew Whittall, and Kai Nieminen. 

Please enjoy these samples from Witches in the Air:

Melartin, Little Quartet for Four Horns, opening

Whittal, Anthem II, ending

Nuorvala, Summer!, ending

by J. Bernardo Silva, IHS Vice-President

• Can you tell us a little about your musical background?

I came from a family of musicians. From an early age, my parents encouraged me to sing and perform. According to them, I was able to memorize a song after listening to it maybe once or twice, an ability that I have, sadly, lost. One of my earliest musical memories from my childhood was singing patriotic songs in front of a large group of adults, bringing most of them to tears. I must have been a sight to see, shouting my lungs out at the age of 3, about freedom and liberty.

From the first years in school, I received intensive training with violin and piano. Later in life, I picked up classical guitar too and made it a habit to explore other instruments. I didn’t become the greatest violinist Romania has ever had, as my parents wished, but I became quite familiar with a lot of string instruments, which comes in handy as a composer.

• As a violinist, what is your relationship with the horn? How did it start and what is your connection?

I had a romantic affair with the French horn in high school. Some kids would go behind the school to smoke a cigarette while I would be making buzzing sounds with a rusty mouthpiece. I owe everything I am, musically at least, to my parents. However, when they discovered that I wanted to make a switch to the French horn, they were extremely upset. Until this day, I still make fun of them for reacting so dramatically. But since then, I had a special affection for the horn, even though I have never played a single note on an actual horn. The violin (with its family of strings), the piano, and the horn are closest to my heart.

• What type of compositions/arrangements for or with horn can we find in your catalog?

To this day there are about 200 arrangements made for a variety of horn ensembles, from duets to 16 horns. Almost every new composition of mine has a horn part. Everything ranging from classical to folk to jazz to pop music can be found in my catalog, and I aim to infinitely expand it.

• What motivates you to compose for horn? Does anything about the horn particularly captivate you?

I always found the sound and range of the horn closest to a human male voice…and sometimes, the cello would give me the same sense. So, I compose for horn as if for a voice without lyrics. Sure, there are many technicalities that could give any inexperienced composer anxiety, but when writing for the horn, whether a solo part or ensemble part, I tell myself, “If it comes naturally to sing it, the horn player will like it too, even when it is difficult.” This doesn’t come to me as innately with other instruments, but I could be biased. I aim to make each part of any arrangement as enjoyable to play as possible.

• Can you tell us a little about your creative process? How do you select the works for your arrangements? What kind of criteria do you follow?

I like to think that if you do creative arrangements, any piece is fertile for exploration and experiments. Because I was “brainwashed” with classical music my entire life, that is usually where I select new pieces, but I like to explore musical folklore too, and I encourage my fellow horn players to give me pop, rock, jazz, and film music challenges. When I am commissioned for a certain piece, I would like not only to make a transcription but would also add a touch of my composition into it. Some musicians appreciate these small variations or surprises; some would very much prefer the original version.

• What was the basis for the Justforhorns page? Can you tell us a little about what we can find there?

My long-term goal is to create a vast collection of music for horn or including horn. When searching the internet, one can easily find scores for violin and piano. Why not for the horn, too? I would encourage other composers and arrangers to publish their works on Justforhorns, too, because to me, it is most important to have passionate people join me in the quest of making music accessible to everyone.

• What are your projects for the future? new challenges?

To compose and to arrange more music. One of my goals for 2024 is to finish a horn concerto and have it premiered (at least in a horn-and-piano format). It is written and dedicated to my dear friend Ionut Podgoreanu, to whom I owe most of my success and recognition in the horn world.

Another personal goal of mine for 2024 is the launch of a practice app, with carefully selected content for beginners to professionals which includes warmups, etudes, orchestral excerpts, standard concertos, etc. We are very close to launching it, but every good product requires great care, and we do not want to disappoint.

• Any message you want to leave to the horn players?

Be (more) patient with young composers.

by Ellie Jenkins

Hi everyone! My old friend Mike Harcrow asked me to introduce myself officially by way of this Meet the People column, so here is a bit about me and my lifetime of membership in the IHS. 

I live in north Georgia, U.S.A., very near Chattanooga. I’m originally from Georgia, but from a very different part of it, the coastal islands. That’s where I first learned to play horn. I currently teach a great group of horn students at Berry College (fun fact: Berry sits on the largest campus in the world at 27,000 acres), along with other music classes at Dalton State College. I play my horn everywhere that will have me, including lots of orchestras, churches, and freelance ensembles. Karl Hill built a Geyer model horn for me in 2000, and it continues to serve me well. I’ve had the opportunity to play it in many amazing places including Taiwan, Brazil, Italy, Austria, and the Many Glacier Lodge in Montana.

In 2020, I began seriously studying natural horn and am pleased to say that I’m starting to feel fluent without valves. Honestly, I have covid to thank for giving me the time to devote nearly a year to playing natural horn almost exclusively while the world was shut down. I had great instruction (and moral support) from Anneke Scott as I was bumbling around in those early months. Now, I am continually looking for excuses to play my natural horn and for new music to learn—or old music that I learned on modern horn that was written for instruments without valves (like anything by Gallay). 

I have been a member of the International Horn Society for many years since discovering its existence while at the University of Miami (where I met Mike). I remember being astonished when I first learned that there was a whole MAGAZINE devoted to the horn and horn playing. Until then, I’d never imagined such a thing. I sat on the floor of the school music library, pouring through issue after issue! In a world with no internet, no worldwide web, no cell phones, and no social media, The Horn Call opened a portal to information and people I had never heard of—and couldn’t get enough of. I went to my first International Horn Symposium in Kansas City at the prodding of my teacher, Doug Hill. (Keep scrolling to check out the interview with Professor Hill in this issue.) There, I played in ensembles with horn players who were already legends to me, and I got to hear concerts by both rising stars and renowned artists. I got to try what seemed like every horn and mouthpiece on the planet, and I bought more music than I could afford. 

Thinking back, the International Horn Society has been with me every step of my journey since then. Most importantly, it helped to introduce me to “horn people” of all types. Those are the people who introduced me to new music, new players, new techniques, and new ways of thinking about the horn. A few years later, The Horn Call became the starting point of research for my doctoral project. 

Even so, I now find myself with roles inside the IHS that I never anticipated: I’m on the committee for Online Music Sales, and I also edit a regular column in The Horn Call, “COR Values,” which spotlights our all-important vendors, those that sell and service all things horn-related. (Don’t tell anyone, but interviewing gives me a great excuse to talk to people whom I’d otherwise feel like I was bothering!)

If you’ve discovered the International Horn Society here at Horn and More, why not join now? Access all that Ellie finds so exciting, intriguing, and challenging! MH

by Vidhurinda Samaraweera

Introduction

Sri Lanka, a beautiful tropical island famously known as the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean,” is a melting pot of diverse cultures. Sri Lanka's history is a captivating journey through time, marked by a rich blend of ancient civilizations, colonial influences, and a struggle for independence. The island's chronicles date back over 2,500 years, witnessing the rise and fall of great kingdoms, which left behind awe-inspiring archaeological wonders. In the 16th century, the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch and later the British, made their indelible marks during the colonial era. This period brought significant cultural, economic, and social changes. The island, then known as Ceylon, gained its independence from British rule in 1948.

Sri Lanka faced the challenges of a prolonged civil conflict that lasted until 2009. The nation has since made remarkable strides towards reconciliation, development, and fostering a sense of unity among its diverse communities. In more recent times, Sri Lanka faced a severe economic crisis which led to political instability.

The citizens overthrew the previous administration, and the new leaders are now progressively restoring political and economic stability. Today, Sri Lanka stands as a resilient and vibrant nation, where the echoes of its storied past can be heard in the ancient ruins, colonial architecture, and the enduring traditions of its people.

History of Music in Sri Lanka

Mainly, four communities live harmoniously in Sri Lanka: the Sinhalese, the Tamils, the Muslims, and the Burghers. The cultural tapestry of this island is rich and diverse, with these communities sharing a deep-rooted connection. Three European nations settled in Sri Lanka since the 16th century. The Portuguese took control over the coastal areas of the island in 1505, and the Dutch in 1638. Finally, the British took full control over the island in 1815 until the island became independent in 1948. With the intermingling of Sinhalese and Tamil customs with Western influences, including the embrace of Catholicism and Anglicanism, Western European music integrated itself into the rich tapestry of Sri Lankan culture.

Long before Europeans ever set foot on the island, the Sri Lankans nurtured profound bilateral relationships with their nearest neighbor, India, and a handful of other nations, including China and Rome. Sri Lanka bloomed as a vibrant hub of international trade, where it was customary for Sri Lankan royals to unite in matrimony with princesses hailing from distant empires. Historical wars with various Indian Kings resulted in a fusion of Indo-Lankan musical traditions, leaving an indelible mark within the long established local musical traditions.

The earliest signs of musical instruments in Sri Lanka date back to the time of King Ravana’s rule (2554 – 2517 BC). According to the tale of Ramayana and the legend of Ravana (which are intertwined with mythology), the King himself played a small, bowed string instrument called the Ravanahatta. It is a forgotten Sri Lankan artifact, players of which can be found in some regions of India such as Rajasthan in the modern days. Some historians believe that the Ravanahatta is an ancestor of the modern violin.

Traditional Wind Instruments

Conch shells...

by Katy Carnaggio

Okay, I’ll be the one to concede this: People always say that becoming a great musician requires discipline, but no one really talks about what exactly discipline entails. So, please pay attention and take notes…yes, with a pen and paper! Here is your success formula: Stress + Rest = Growth

Following are 4 steps to apply to get THE WORK done…like your favorite great athlete does!

#1—Align practice sessions with your peak learning cycles. 
Your body operates in ultradian rhythms of approximately 90-minute cycles throughout the day. These rhythms determine when your brain is in a prime state for learning—that is, its most neuroplastic phase.

If you’ve ever stayed up late cramming for an exam, you know exactly what it’s like to work against these cycles: it’s strenuous. Capture those sweet spots of heightened neuroplasticity instead. You’ll be able to do deeper work with greater flow.

Note when you're most alert after waking up; that's your first ultradian cycle. You typically experience one more phase of high alertness in the mid-to-late afternoon. Together, these provide two optimal learning periods daily.

#2—Prioritize tasks according to intensity and meaning.
To be clear, each day, you normally have two opportunities to significantly deepen your knowledge, refine your skill sets, or improve your athleticism…or not. You get this time, but you get only this time.

You can’t grow in every direction at once, and you can’t choose when these optimal learning cycles occur. But rather than serving as limitations, these constraints provide opportunities to cultivate something of deep, intrinsic value. They ask you to decide what matters most, and they shape who you choose to become as a result. 

Support your choices by using deep learning sessions to work on meaningful activities which can benefit from high levels of focus and concentration. Save the less-intense or less-important tasks for later. 

Best Practices: 

Instead of: using your optimal learning cycle to practice a routine you know like the back of your hand,
Try: compiling/creating/varying a routine to refine skills needed for upcoming performances.

Instead of: practicing after you’ve spent all your energy at your 9-5 job,
Try: waking up at 5:30 a.m. to leverage a ~7 a.m. learning cycle. 

#3—Commit to focusing (and refocusing) during your deep work session.
Honor your practice sessions with total engagement and deep, unremitting focus. This is the time to introduce the stress part of the Stress + Rest = Growth equation. 

If you aren’t pushing yourself to develop your skills, interpret your music thoughtfully, or to offer something qualitatively more beautiful to your audience, you will not grow. 

Monofocus. Go “full throttle” on your musical development. It’s totally fine if it’s hard to do this at first. In fact, you will not be able to focus at peak levels for 90 minutes. Like any skill, your abilities to focus intensely, resist temptation, and to think deeply will strengthen with practice. 

#4—Incorporate 10-30 minutes of deliberate recovery throughout your day.
Hard work is vital for thoughtful, compelling, and skilled performances. But hard work is often mistaken for relentless work. 

Without adequate rest, we can’t recover well enough to work hard in the first place. We become stuck in an unfulfilling grind of doing “pretty good” work, never truly stressing ourselves to reach our full learning potential but never really resting either. 

Incorporating recovery throughout your day not only expands your capacity to complete more than one deep learning session in a day, it also brings all your work to fruition as your brain rewires and consolidates learning during sleep or non-sleep deep rest.

Best Practices:

Instead of: bringing your attention into a tight focus by scrolling through videos on your phone during breaks,
Try: letting your mental states idle by staring out a window or looking around the room.

Instead of: traveling a familiar or mundane route,
Try: putting yourself in the way of beauty: reroute your commute or breaks, preferably through nature. 

Tomorrow’s agenda? Listen to the rhythm of your body and mind. Aligning the rhythm of stress and rest with your biological rhythms is a powerful tool for sustainable excellence that will carry you through the year. 

by Inman Hebert

A Constructive Approach to College Auditions

Horn students will be facing the college audition period over the next few months. Whether applying to undergraduate or graduate schools, auditions are crucial to the next step in a student’s education. Concern over this can cause stress. For horn students stressed about the upcoming audition season, learning to trust your preparation and your ability can ensure a successful series of auditions.

Going into auditions with the right mindset can help alleviate stress. Many students feel as if college professors expect them to be perfect. Because of this, some go into auditions focusing on hiding their weaknesses. As much as we wish our weaknesses could disappear, focusing on them during an audition scenario is counterproductive. Often, by thinking about what we want to avoid, we make the very mistakes we dread.

So, what should auditionees think about? Focusing on being ourselves is a much more productive mindset. Every horn player has strong suits, from specific registers on the horn to technical facility to musicality. In an audition, we should ensure that professors hear the strengths in our playing rather than worrying about our weaknesses. Approaching an audition with that mindset enables a player to perform with more confidence and offers professors a more accurate portrayal of who we are as a player.

While audition expectations vary, many professors do not expect their prospective students to be polished. After all, the whole point of being a horn student is to focus on improvement. In an audition, by showing off one’s strengths on the horn, professors can hear an auditionee’s potential, which is far more important than their present overall skill level.

While college auditions can be stressful, the best way to navigate them, as difficult as this may seem, is for students to be themselves. In doing so, students play with a confidence which illuminates their strengths, giving professors an accurate representation of who they are as musicians and whether or not a student would be a good fit in their studio. Even if the answer is no, students can be assured that they are being accepted into environments that will most support their improvement. By being ourselves in the college audition process, we put ourselves in the best position to achieve our potential.

by Layne Anspach

Hello musicians!

This month’s Chamber Music Corner features Emma Lou Diemer’s Quartet for Trumpet, Horn, Trombone, and Piano (2001). Diemer was born in 1927 in Kansas City, Missouri, and she composed and played piano as an adolescent, even becoming an organist for her church at age 13. She received degrees in composition from Yale (BM, MM) and Eastman (Ph.D.). While on a Fulbright Scholarship, she studied in Brussels, Belgium. Diemer has been the recipient of many awards, including a NEA fellowship in electronic music and the Kennedy Center Friedheim Award. She has taught composition and theory at several institutions including the University of Maryland (1965-1970) and the University of California, Santa Barbara (1971-1991). Her compositions range from large ensemble pieces to those for solo instruments, voices, and electronics.

Quartet for Trumpet, Horn, Trombone, and Piano (2001) was written for the Borealis Brass Trio (Fairbanks, Alaska). In September 2001, it was premiered at Frostburg State University in Frostburg, Maryland. The inside cover describes the work as “music that is rather tonal, rather restless in mood, with the piano supplying most of the rich, timbral background over which the brass instruments are allowed to be unabashedly melodic.”

The A section of the work’s ternary form, moving rapidly and expressively, is supported by the piano while each brass instrument presents the melody on their own. Following the final entrance by the trombone, the brass parts combine for the full ensemble. At the end of the A section, the piano drops out as the brass subside in dynamics. After a repeat of the A section, the B section, slower, begins with 27 measures of solo piano. The B section is split into four subsections: Slower, Much slower, Much faster, and Slower, express. Much slower follows the same format at the A section, each brass instrument in turn carrying the melody with the piano. Much faster returns to a similar tempo as the “slower” section but with the inclusion of the brass in a mostly homorhythmic texture. The fourth section, Slower, express, features a slow texture where all four members fill in the sound, dwindling though to just trombone and piano by the end of the section. The final A section, Tempo I, is identical to the first A section with only the bombastic concluding coda deviating from the original presentation.

The reference recording is from the album Emma Lou Diemer from Albany Records USA. The hornist is Sandra Woodward.

Ein Waldhorn Lustig

by Caiti Beth McKinney

Hi horn friends, and happy 2024!

I’m starting off this year with a composer who sadly left us in 2023. Nancy Van de Vate, an incredibly prolific composer and advocate for women in music, was a pillar of the music world. In addition to founding the League of Women Composers in 1975 (which later merged into the International Alliance for Women in Music), she also was a professor at several educational institutions, including the University of Tennessee and the University of Hawaii.

Some of Van de Vate’s larger scale works include a well-received opera entitled All Quiet on the Western Front, and twenty-six pieces for orchestra; the most famous of these is a gut-wrenching work, Chernoybl, about the 1986 nuclear catastrophe. She also composed an extensive catalogue of chamber works, including two brass quintets, a brass quartet, and several trios for horn and mixed instrumentation.

One of my favorites among Van de Vate’s works is Brass Quintet No. 2: Variations on “The Streets of Laredo.” While not particularly challenging, this piece is a tonal crowd pleaser which features every instrument in the group in turn. My Texas roots might bias me in favor of the source material, but I think the variations are tons of fun!

Van de Vate also composed several chamber works for horn, including a trio for Horn, Viola, and Piano, another trio for Horn, Alto Flute, and Piano, and a piece for one of my favorite instrumentations, a violin trio! Trio for Horn, Violin, and Piano alternates moods between movements, switching back and forth between mysterious and at times somber moments, and driving, rhythmic eighth note patterns in the faster movements. Well within the reach of a collegiate horn player, the trio is a great addition to our repertoire!

If you would like to learn more about this incredible composer, check out her extensive biography, Journeys through the Life and Music of Nancy Van de Vate.

Happy New Year!

by Marty Schlenker

Dear Fellow Ambitious Amateurs,

Welcome to our second column. In the first column, I introduced myself as a middle-aged guy whose enthusiasm for horn exceeded the time and focus required to channel it during the 22½ years since our oldest child was born. As she and her younger sister and brother have become adults, I foresaw more time available for horn and decided it was within reach to “up my game.” The pot’s been on simmer for a long time. Let’s see if I can turn up the heat….

Previously, I didn’t mention my intended audience: it mostly isn’t you. If you’re reading this column, you know what the IHS is, and you’ve taken the initiative to receive Horn and More each month…and you actually read it! If you’ve made it this far, you’re pretty invested in your horn playing. You’re probably the leader in your cadre of amateurs. You probably already know most of the things I will be discovering (or rediscovering) in the coming months. If you learn something new here, wonderful! At least let my experiences inform and affirm yours.

Instead, I’m writing for your community band section mates or fellow pick-up quartet players who have far more potential than they’ve ever considered. I am writing on faith that small tweaks and self-belief will take them a long way. I intend for this to be conveyed here as I document my post-peak-parenting horn journey and then to be transmitted by you. With your encouragement, your section (or quartet or whatever) will become more accomplished, more committed, and more joyful.

Back to the plot. I called Dr. Harcrow…with some apprehension. Why? Because it had been so long since I’d taken a lesson that I really wasn’t sure how much of my playing was ‘right’ vs. ‘wrong.’ I expected to have to go backwards in order to move forward, taking a more diligent approach to detecting and avoiding bad habits. But what if the prescription was to start over? What if Mike took one look at my open bite (ridiculously wide) and said, “Wow. You should have been a woodwind player. Not much I can do here…”?

Before I called him, a good thing happened. I figured I should get ready for our meeting, so I practiced more often, and I practiced a few etudes repetitively for polish instead of randomly going where my muse took me. This helped, a little. More air from more regular practice improved fullness of tone and marginally improved my upper register. More repetition improved accuracy. Folks, pass this on: the benefits of jumping back into lessons start before the first one even happens.

We had a very enjoyable introduction and first lesson. I could describe what I wanted: a more reliable upper register, a punchier bass clef, and more flexibility, for starters. Oh, and more richness and commanding presence of sound. I didn’t put it to Mike exactly this way, but I wanted to sound like all four members of the American Horn Quartet put together. Ambitious? Oh yes…yes indeed! I had formed hypotheses about where the opportunities for improvement lay. I expected that the discussion would dive quickly into micro-details of embouchure.

But that’s not how it went. Much of the lesson was spent on phrasing and musicality, using the Strauss Nocturno and Belloli Etude #8.

Having spent three summers in drum corps, and the last 20 years in a community band with a horn section of 3-4 members but with a trumpet section of 8-13, I was under the impression that I was never loud enough, never working hard enough. Mike: “Well, actually.…” Revelation #1 was that I was far louder than I understood myself to be. Prescription #1 was to work on expanding dynamic range on the softer side before the louder side. 

Sounds easy, right? Perhaps for some; but for me, this prescription ran headlong into a corollary of the sound concept I mentioned above. Along with thinking I wasn’t loud enough, it was also really important to me to initiate every note very squarely, which I accomplished by tonguing hard, and very far forward, basically at the tip of my upper teeth. 

From a discussion about sound, a significant technical prescription arose. My aggressive tongue was in the way, attempting to substitute for work that should have been done by my air. Move your tongue back. A-ha! Friends, pass this along too: a lesson may not go how you expect it to go.

Okay, this is getting long, and I should go. One thing first, though: I want to hear from you and relay highlights of your journey too! The one person I heard from after column #1 was Marilyn Bone Kloss who graciously invited me to receive her Cornucopia newsletter. (I would recommend it to all. Lots of neat stuff.)

Next column: the realities of splitting time between Pennsylvania and Los Angeles…and tonguing.

Marty Schlenker, Amateur Hornist

Hello all!

I hope this message finds you all well, having enjoyed a wonderful holiday season and ready to jump into the second half your academic year and/or performing season with renewed energy!

This month, I want to draw your attention to the some of the competitions that will be featured this year. The most obvious competition is the IHS collaboration with the International Horn Competition of America (IHCA), which recently announced the repertoire lists for both the University and Professional Divisions. These lists have been significantly updated to include more diverse repertoire than ever before, and I believe that you will find several exciting works never before seen at IHCA. The lists can be found at www.ihcamerica.org.

Additionally, IHS 56 is proud to announce that we will be hosting University Horn Quartet and University Horn Ensemble competitions. Details are still being finalized, but we should have everything (repertoire, rules and regulations, etc.) announced by the beginning of February, if not earlier. We will also be announcing a Competitions Coordinator whose sole job will be to oversee these competitions and help us run them smoothly and efficiently. (P.S. I know you will all LOVE the person who will serving in this role. Stay tuned!)

Lastly, though there have been some unforeseen delays, registration for IHS 56 and IHCA will be opening on January 2, 2024. The link to the registration site will be found at www.hornsonthehorizon.com (as well as ihcamerica.org), and on both the IHS 56 Facebook and Instagram pages.

We hope to see you in Colorado!

John McGuire, Host