by Jeffrey Snedeker, Central Washington University, Ellensburg WA

Lowell E. Shaw (2016)

The April edition of The Horn Call will feature an article on the life and work of Lowell “Spike” Shaw who passed away on December 8. The article was originally planned as a celebration of his 95th birthday (July 7, 2025), presenting a new updated biography, compiling and combining the work of others, with additional information from Shaw, his family members, friends, and former students. Now, with recent events, it will be expanded to include tributes from friends and colleagues.

It should be noted that Lowell Shaw’s life has been summarized a few times in the past, and the forthcoming article in The Horn Call builds on the following:

Heather Lankford, “Lowell Shaw (b.1930): His Musical Career and Contributions to Horn Ensemble Literature” (DMA dissertation, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2000).

Wallace Easter, “Ride of the Fripperies: An Interview with Lowell E. Shaw,” The Horn Call Vol. XXX, No. 2 (February 2000): 47-50.

“Lowell Shaw (1930-2025)," International Horn Society website.

Born in Joliet, Illinois, Shaw grew up in a musical family that was very supportive of making music and attending concerts by many area groups. Performances by the Chicago Symphony were especially inspirational, particularly during World War II when Helen Kotas was Principal Horn. Spike decided to become a professional musician at a relatively early age, after inspirational experiences at the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan, and an opportunity during his sophomore year in high school to play with the Oak Park-River Forest Symphony, a group in which his father played. The orchestra needed a horn player for an upcoming concert that included Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, and Spike played second horn to none other than future IHS President and Honorary Member James Winter who was then working on an advanced degree at Northwestern University. These experiences sparked Spike’s interest in making horn his career.

While in high school, Spike had lessons with Max Pottag who was teaching at Northwestern University, so when he decided to make a career of it, continuing his studies at NU was an easy decision. Pottag taught at Northwestern for 18 years, and his teaching stressed the development of musicianship, focusing on tone and facility, which connected well with the idea of playing in a horn ensemble. The horn ensemble experience was significant, involving small and large groups playing repertoire that consisted of Pottag’s arrangements of music from a variety of sources and some original works. Pottag also encouraged the students to make their own arrangements, and this led to what would be Spike’s first published transcription, “The King’s Prayer” from Wagner’s Lohengrin for horn quartet, eventually published by Belwin in 1960.

After finishing his bachelor’s degree at Northwestern in 1951, Spike enlisted in the Air Force, and joined the US Air Force Band at Sampson Air Force Base near Geneva, New York. Many of the band members were Eastman graduates, and everyone was encouraged to compose and arrange music for numerous parades, park concerts, school presentations, social events, and even a weekly radio broadcast. The band program also maintained a few jazz ensembles. Occasionally the dance band would be short a trombone, and Spike filled in, learning a range of jazzy styles. In all, his time at Sampson was extremely important to his future as a composer, arranger, and musician.

After four years in the Air Force, Spike returned to Northwestern University for a master’s degree. In 1956, Shaw heard about a second horn opening with the Buffalo Philharmonic. He auditioned for it and won the position. The orchestra was apparently a good fit for him—he remained Second Horn with the Philharmonic for thirty-eight years until 1994. Spike claimed he was never interested in playing principal horn, although the position was available several times during his career with the BPO. He just loved playing second horn, often quoted as saying he didn’t feel he had the chops or the temperament to be a first chair player. Fortunately, the second horn position also came with many chamber music opportunities.

While playing in the Philharmonic was a good job, in 1956 the symphony season lasted only 22 weeks, so Spike started gigging, teaching privately, and even sold insurance for a brief period to supplement his income. He was soon invited to teach part time at the University of Buffalo in 1957. Shaw’s UB studio usually numbered between six and ten. With an easy-going yet meticulous attitude, he emphasized fundamentals as a means of developing light and fluid technique to make playing the horn easier. And, considering his Northwestern University experience, it is not surprising that he combined this approach with heavy doses of ensemble playing, including frequent duets and trios with his students. Heather Lankford wrote:

Lowell Shaw in 1972

Shaw’s university horn choir was a great teaching and learning environment for the students, but it also soon became a community gathering place. Together with other area horn teachers and players, Spike initiated the Buffalo Horn Club, meeting regularly at UB on Saturday afternoons. The membership ranged from five to twenty-five members, from junior high school to professional players. The club was primarily a recreational organization that shared information, read ensemble literature, and gave occasional performances. The initial repertoire included some Los Angeles Horn Club arrangements, other traditional horn ensemble pieces and arrangements, and new works, all written, adapted, or arranged by Shaw. The rehearsals were generally informal, usually lasting two or three hours, providing a venue where the sole purpose was to enjoy the sound of horn and to communicate with each other. Younger students would meet first, and professionals would come later. Many former students remember the day they were invited to stay on and play with the older folks.

The idea of publishing Shaw’s music was suggested by one of the horn club members, Jack Nyquist, a chemical engineer with the DuPont Chemical Company. Jack was moving out of Buffalo and asked if he could take some of the music with him. In the 1960s, photocopying technology was expensive and the idea of writing out all parts by hand was not appealing, so Nyquist suggested publication. Four members of the horn club, Nyquist, Charles McDonald, a hornist in the BPO at that time, John Park, a music teacher in western New York, and Shaw, provided approximately one hundred dollars each to consult with an attorney for the purpose of printing the first three publications: Fripperies, vol. 1, Four Quartets, and Bach Trios, vol. 1. In an interview in 2000, Shaw said:

The rest is history. The works published by The Hornists’ Nest include over 130 works by 45 composers and 17 arrangers. In the “frippery” style, the total is 40 Fripperies, 19 Bipperies, 8 Tripperies, 4 Mini-Tripperies, 8 Quipperies, and 13 Just Desserts for solo horn “in Frippery style” with optional string bass parts. There are also a few wind quintets and other unpublished arrangements that include the jazzy styles. Since the first volume appeared, the Fripperies, as well as his many other arrangements and compositions for horn ensembles, have become a source of great joy for hornists worldwide. A definitive recording of the Fripperies Volume 1-8 was released in 2001, and a second recording, …ipperies ’n Stuff, was released in 2008.

Wallace Easter, Tim Schwartz, Lowell Shaw, Jeffrey Snedeker, Calvin Smith, 2001

There are also two additional recordings released that include music published by The Hornists’ Nest: The Hornists’ Nest (Mark Records MES-29088, 1972) and From Fripperies Back To Bach (Hornists’ Nest Records #2, ca. 1974). These last two were released on vinyl and can be found in libraries and occasionally on eBay. While the Fripperies and similar works have become a staple of horn repertoire, The Hornists’ Nest also features many of Shaw’s arrangements—the most frequent composer from whom he has drawn is J. S. Bach, but there are many others. Heather Lankford’s dissertation devotes an entire chapter to Shaw’s compositional style and includes plenty of examples. The Hornists’ Nest also includes original compositions and arrangements of many other composers.

As IHS members know well, The Hornists’ Nest has been a committed presence at numerous workshops and symposia all over the world. Spike attended the very first annual horn workshop at Florida State University in 1969 and was actively involved with the formation of the International Horn Society, begun in 1970 and finally completed in 1971. He was also a strong voice for the inclusion of horn ensembles in workshop programming, and conducted large groups and led late-night reading sessions that became very popular over the years. He gave many presentations and participated on panels on composing for horns, Frippery styles, and orchestral playing at numerous regional and international workshops.

Late night ensemble with Shaw conducting, Ithaca NY, 2016

In 1990, the International Horn Society recognized Spike’s contributions at a national level with a Punto Award. In 2010, he was awarded the society’s highest honor, Honorary Membership, in recognition of his impact at the international level.

From a broader perspective, it is easy to see a connection between Shaw’s values of playing music together and enjoying each other’s company, and the growth of the sense of community in the International Horn Society and among horn players in general. In that same 2000 interview, Spike said, “I feel fortunate that I discovered an unfilled niche and had the background and experience to take advantage of it.” Horn players all over the world feel fortunate, too, and mourn the loss of a dear friend and influential force in music for horn.

Learn more about Lowell Shaw and his impact on the horn world in the April issue of The Horn Call.

by Katy Carnaggio

You notice it in the mirror. The circle on your lip is now faint pink. Not red. Head tilted, eyes narrowed. You trace soft circles on the mark your mouthpiece left—the one that said I’m serious, I’m disciplined, I belong here.

Now? Like a bruise, fading. Like your horn forgot you. Like you forgot yourself.

You open the fridge instead of the case, like any good, frazzled, under-caffeinated creative person would. You decide to make muffins. Or rewatch that documentary about the linguist with the pet crow. You avoid the horn like it might accuse you.

It doesn’t. It just waits. Quiet. Patient. Like it, too, has emotionally transformative plans involving crumbs and niche bird facts. Because in function, the horn sees you precisely as you are. It accepts you with unnerving fidelity. With ruthless attention. Maybe it’s proof you’re not sure you deserve. A map that knows your breath better than you do. But whatever it is, it is not treacherous. It is not cruel. Because it is not human. You are. And it will not punish you for that.

It survives your silence. It survives your distance. It survives you forgetting your own name. It will always meet you with that maddening, aching kind of love that doesn’t flinch, doesn’t fold, and certainly would never be jealous of muffins. Muffins are technique. Muffins are you. And it will always receive your breath and mirror it back, like it never stopped listening.

Without a mirror that confirms your sound, it’s easy to be terrified you’re losing a version of yourself you never got to be. But the music doesn’t live in the horn; it lives in you. In your perceptual systems. In your motor pathways. In your memory, your timing, your attention to pattern.

So while you may think the dust on the case means shame, your horn responds like it means history. Proof you lived. Proof you brought your musical skills into the rest of your life, where they could be targeted, refined, and deepened. It doesn’t have to be abandonment. It can even be a practice better than practice; it can be transfer. And you’re about to see how it works.

The Practice Guilt Is Real. (So Is The Epiphany In Warrior Two): Skipping practice for a workout can feel like a tiny betrayal, like you’re choosing your body over your playing and hoping the horn will forgive you later. But sometimes the fastest way to learn is through mistakes. And workouts? They’re a...

Egmont Fuchs (b. 1955) served as second horn in the Vienna Symphony Orchestra from 1975-1977, and he played third horn with the Vienna Horn Quartet for nearly four decades. He also studied composition with Alfred Uhl at the Vienna Academy of music. Several of his works for horn ensemble are available as free downloads at https://egmontfuchs.musicaneo.com/. Enjoy his short and festive Fanfare für 8 Hörner.

by Inman Hebert

As horn players, we have an unofficial obligation to serve as ambassadors. A key part of the International Horn Society’s mission revolves around building global fellowship in the effort to educate and to promote the instrument. These ideals rely, in great part, on us being representatives of the horn to non-musical family, friends, and communities. As spokespeople, articulating why the horn matters encourages us to find shared connections which illustrate the horn’s impact in society.

While iconic classical horn moments, such as the solo in the second movement of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, the trio in Beethoven’s Eroica, or Wagner’s “Short Call,” may lack mainstream familiarity, using popular culture and highlighting the role of the horn in film and popular music can foster comprehension as we communicate.

First and foremost, we must understand that not everyone recognizes the horn’s sound. To remove this barrier, we can point out specific moments in popular media that feature horn solos. We must also endeavor to perform more in our own communities. Playing in chamber music ensembles, like brass quintets or horn quartets or performing pops concerts, can provide an entry point for the general public to appreciate the instrument’s captivating tone.

Renowned for its unique rich sound—the sound which we work so hard to develop—the horn features prominently in a variety of films of almost every genre from Westerns to Sci-fi classics to modern superhero movies. To name a few, the horn is featured in the title themes of The Magnificent Seven, Star Trek: First Contact, Band of Brothers, and The Avengers.

For the elevator pitch, “Think of the most epic moments in any movie you have ever watched, and the horn will be present in those triumphs.” Consider, for example, The Lord of the Rings. Highlighting a few horn features in cinematic music can serve as common ground for discussion.

The Star Wars fan can relate to the famous “Princess Leia’s Theme” or “Binary Sunset” (Force Theme), the first of which portrays the character’s emotional depth while the latter elicits hope throughout one of the most iconic movie franchises ever created.

The over one billion people who have been estimated to have seen the Harry Potter movies can easily recognize “Hedwig’s Theme,” the song playing during the opening credits that then permeates the film series. Within this theme, the horn takes over the melody from the glockenspiel, lending its unique sound to the mystique of Rowling’s wizard world.

Additionally, The Beatles, one of the most popular bands ever, feature Alan Civil’s horn playing in their hit "For No One,” which recently surpassed 100 million streams on Spotify.

Through pop culture references, we can promote the horn’s sound, show the extent to which the instrument pervades familiar music (particularly in movies and television), and share the horn’s role in storytelling and in evoking emotion. By engaging with our audience through shared experiences, we go a long way in fulfilling our roles as ambassadors for the horn.

by Lee Jackson

My name is Lee Jackson, and I have been invited by Horn and More to submit an introduction to my composition, Bohemian Galop.

I wrote Bohemian Galop in late 2023 for submission to the 2024 Southeast Horn Workshop Composition Competition at the University of Georgia. It took me a little over a month to complete, if memory serves. The rules of the contest called for an ensemble of 4-8 horns in F, with the length of the piece limited to 6 minutes. I chose to write for sextet, and the time came in at 4 minutes 51 seconds. Galop was composed in the key of G major (sounding C major), which gave me a good working horn range (highest written note = A5, lowest written note = C2).

Coming up with a name for the piece turned out to be one of the hardest things about it. I might have called it A Jaunty Air if cooler heads hadn’t intervened. I ended up bringing in my entire immediate family plus my brother-in-law, James Baker (who produces and hosts the “Classics à la Carte” program on Texas Public Radio and on KPAC 88.3 FM San Antonio, every Friday from 7-9 p.m. Central time). We finally settled on Bohemian Galop: “Bohemian” for the imagery one gets of a romp through the forests of central Europe, and “Galop” for the feel of a hunt.

The work includes 4 distinct sections, the first from the beginning through measure 50. As the Bohemian forests include German, Austrian, and Czech lands, I refer to this as the German segment of the work. The section has the duple-meter feel of a galop and gives one the sense of a hunt getting under way.

The next segment, the Austrian segment (Con brio), includes mm. 51-104. The presentation is more formal yet still not out of the woods. Eager dogs lead the way to the prey as well-dressed hunters follow.

Following a short transition (mm. 105-106), the Czech segment commences (mm. 107 through 120), feeling more industrial, as if the chase was running alongside a set of railroad tracks. Galop ends with a restatement of the opening fanfare, followed by a final segment at measure 122, a truncated recap of the German portion that leads to a bravura tutti flourish at the end.

If this description of Bohemian Galop intrigues you and you would like to perform it with your professional, university, or community horn ensemble, it is available here on the IHS Online Music Sales site. Thank you!

by Layne Anspach

Trevor Zavac’s “Fringe” for horn, violin, and piano (2022) will be the focus of this month’s Chamber Music Corner. Trevor Zavac (b. 2000) is a composer and hornist. He received a BM from Indiana University and is currently pursuing his MM in Composition at the University of Southern California. Zavac was the 2024 ASCAP Morton Gould Award winner, and his works have been performed by the Indianapolis Ballet, the Indianapolis Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and other ensembles.

“Fringe” was premiered during the 2022 Brevard Music Center Summer Institute. Zavac included the following program notes for the work:

Receiving Honorable Mention in the International Horn Society’s 2022 Composition Competition, “Fringe” was subsequently performed at the 2023 International Horn Symposium in Montréal.

The work is in a single movement marked Allegro. The three players begin with short staccato hits using various timbres or techniques: the violin starts pizzicato and the horn plays stopped. As the section progresses, each member has slightly longer motivic elements stacked together. A descending sixteenth-note passage in the violin tumbles into the next section in which we hear continuous lines from all members, and this builds to heavy accents in the violin and horn.

As the music grows to a collective downbeat, the texture changes dramatically and an ostinato is heard in the left hand of the piano. Once the right hand joins, the horn plays a melodic line which the violin subsequently assumes. The ostinato stops leading to more fragmentation, as Zavac puts it, unravelling. The staccato prevalent at the outset of the work disappears, giving way to longer and longer phrases. A new ostinato emerges in the piano, more soothing than the first. This, along with the continued elongation of lines in the violin and horn, brings the work to a measured conclusion.

The reference recording is from a live performance in Auer Hall at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. The hornist is Andre Richter.

Ein Waldhorn Lustig

by Caiti Beth McKinney

Happy New Year! To start 2026 off on the right note, this month I want to introduce you to a composer who has only come to my attention in the last year: Fernande Decruck (1896-1954). Decruck was a French composer active during the first half of the 20th century who composed an astonishing number of pieces, over 280, despite living only to age 57. Her works covered nearly every musical genre, from orchestral to chamber and solo music. While Decruck is most remembered for her sonata for saxophone, she lavished attention on the horn in several of her compositions.

One of my favorite Decruck works is her double concerto for horn and trumpet, Heroic Poem (Poème héroïque pour trompette solo en ut, cor solo en fa et orchestre). Completed just after the end of World War II, the piece is firmly in the Neoromantic style that had become so popular by this time. The heroics of the music’s namesake are certainly present in the first movement in the form of dramatic and triumphant leaping figures in both the horn and trumpet; however, the second movement is where I believe Decruck truly shines. Dark and rumbling strings underscore lyrical lines in the two solo brass; the whole movement is haunting and melancholy, moving the listener into feelings of grief. This is exhibited no more poignantly than at the end of the movement, where unaccompanied solo horn descends into a final lament, closing the section on a low, mournful concert F. The hero of the third movement is changed by the journey of the second; their bravado has matured, and, while slightly subdued, is no less triumphant. Complex (and very French) skipping and leaping motifs resound in the solo parts, culminating in another concert F in the horn to end the work—though three octaves higher this time!

Heroic Poem is certainly not the only Decruck work to feature the horn, though it is the only one professionally recorded thus far (an outstanding performance with soloists Amy McCabe and Leelanee Sterrett with conductor Matthew Aubin and the Jackson Symphony). Decruck also composed a horn quartet, a short work for horn and piano titled Pastorale Triste, and a fascinating wind quintet with piano Chant Lyrique. Many of her manuscripts are available for digital perusal here thanks to the tireless work of Matthew Aubin and his endeavors to restore Decruck’s compositions from the attic back to the concert hall.

by Charles “Skip” Snead, Professor of Horn, The University of Alabama

Teaching can be an incredibly rewarding experience; it is the willful acceptance of a sacred trust between teacher and student. When a student entrusts the teacher with goals and dreams, that brings serious responsibility for each. It is important to treat every student as an individual and to intentionally try to meet them where they are. Each has different skill sets and a different personality; each will respond to different approaches and teaching styles. A successful teacher must practice flexibility, offering each student the best opportunity to progress and succeed.

Being a successful teacher requires a balance of three important roles: teacher, mentor, and psychologist. The teacher must have the teaching skills to offer the student what they need to learn, the mentoring skills to provide the inspiration and guidance that is required, and the psychology necessary to bring these things to bear in the most positive way for each individual.

While always being absolutely clear and honest with every student, keeping a positive forward-looking attitude is crucial. When working with a student, it is not productive to discuss what is bad or what has failed. It is more productive to support the positives that are present while also clearly outlining every opportunity for the improvement of flaws with a specific plan for how that can be achieved. This must occur with an equal eye on the technical, musical, and stylistic requirements of any given work. Encouraging the student always to look forward, learning from past mistakes, is vital; looking backward, showing undue concern about the past, is not a productive mindset. Focusing on what can be achieved and what can be corrected is what will bring success. The instilling of a proper attitude and a solid work ethic in every student is crucial to ongoing development. This is best accomplished with encouragement, a clear vision of possibilities, and active mentoring and support through the process.

The practice of honesty builds their trust in you. Students must also know that you believe in them, support opportunities for their success, and are willing to go the extra mile to help them get there. If a student is struggling, one encouraging word can be more productive than a paragraph of negative comments.

Like the relationship that is forged between the teacher and student, similar relationships between studio colleagues should be encouraged as well. Students learn effective skills, both musical and personal, by working with and supporting each other. When all players understand their roles in and commitment to the overall studio community, all grow stronger as a group. A positive, productive attitude between students is crucial. When the correct attitude is achieved, anything is possible. Then, the greatest reward for any teacher is seeing the results, whether small steps or large achievements, and the joy that ultimately follows.

Winter in Poland will give way to a beautiful Symposium summer this coming July, and now is the time to prepare for IHS 58. Registration is officially open.

Dormitory reservations can be made. Other accommodations will become available in the next few weeks; watch for options and reserve your preferred location early.

Competitions include those for Horn Quartet in 4 divisions, Horn Ensemble in 3 divisions, Natural Horn and Jazz Horn competitions, plus the IHS Premier Soloist Competition and the Frizelle Orchestral Audition Contests. Check the website for applications and to familiarize yourself with the requirements and rules.