W. Peter Kurau, Professor of Horn
Eastman School of Music 2011-2012 Horn Studio
Freshmen:
William “Billy” Bard is a horn player from Pinellas Park, Florida. He studied with Carolyn Wahl (The Florida Orchestra) for most of his middle and high school years. Billy was a member of the Pinellas Youth Symphony for three years, and played a variety of roles as 2nd horn, 3rd horn, 4th horn, and horn in the Pinellas Youth Symphony Brass Quintet / Brass Ensemble. In addition, he was awarded the “Most Improved Award” for the 2009-2010 season. Also an aspiring composer, Billy performed in his own first public premiere, “Sketch for Wind Quintet,” at Kinhaven Music School in the summer of 2010. In the summer of 2011, Billy attended The 5th Annual Horn Ensemble Summer Workshop at Daytona Beach. He began attending the Eastman School of Music in the fall to pursue a degree and a career in Applied Music (Horn Performance). He is a member of the International Horn Society. Aside from the horn, Billy enjoys watching and reading sci-fi / fantasy films and books, respectively, collecting film scores, geeking out on all things New York Philharmonic, playing games on his iPhone, Tweeting, and reading articles of music & horn pedagogy.
Caitlin Smith is a freshman performance major from Schodack, New York. She has studied with Patrice Malatestinic and Gustavo Camacho. Caitlin has played with the Empire State Youth Orchestra and other various ensembles in the Albany area throughout her high school career. In 2011, Caitlin won the high school division of the Northeast Horn Festival Solo Competition, and placed second in the Uel Wade Music Scholarship Competition. Aside from playing the French horn, Caitlin loves to sing, dance, play piano, and hang out with friends.
Abby Black is from the Northern Suburbs of Chicago and is pursuing a Bachelor of Musicin French Horn Performance. She studied with Jonathon Boen throughout most of high school. This past year, Abby was apart of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Program. The past two years she was apart of the Midwest Young Artist Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Program. In high school she was principal horn in the All State Honor Band 2011 and won the John Phillips Sousa Award. Towards the end of her high school career she had the opportunity to participate in the 2011 Chicago Youth in Music Festival where she got to play in a side by side with musicians from the Chicago Civic Orchestra and the Carlos Chavez Youth Orchestra under the direction of Riccardo Muti. In previous summers Abby has participated in summer programs such as the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, the Northwestern High School Music Institute and Indiana University College Audition Prep Camp. She has also played with multiple community groups across the Northern Chicagoarea. Aside from playing horn, Abby enjoys swimming, water polo and knitting.
Sophomores:
Daniel Brottman, from the Chicago suburbs, is a sophomore working towards a Bachelor of Music in Composition. This past year, he served in the horn section of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. He has been featured three times on WFMT – Chicago’s classical radio station – on their program “Introductions,” playing both piano and horn. He was also pleased to attend the National High School Music Institute at Northwestern University in the summer of 2009. Daniel enjoys poring over musical scores, reading and watching sci-fi, and pretending he got enough sleep. He has high hopes to one day actually get enough sleep.
Emily Browne is a sophomore performance major from State College, Pennsylvania. While in high school, she played assistant horn in the Nittany Valley Symphony. She was also a member of the Central Pennsylvania Youth Orchestra and was president of the Tri-M Music Honors Society. She performed as a featured soloist with the State College Area High School concert band in 2008 and with the orchestra in 2010. Also in 2010, Emily won the John Phillip Sousa Young Soloist Award for outstanding high school performer. Other than horn, Emilyenjoys making masterpieces with her 74 piece Crayola crayon collection, frolicking with friends in the Rochester snow, and spending time with her family. One day, Emily hopes to play with a professional symphony.
Emily Duffy, a native of Wisconsin, is a sophomore pursuing a double degree in horn performance and music education. Before Eastman, Emily was a proud member of the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra Program, performing in the Junior Wind Ensemble, Philharmonia Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, and Senior Symphony Orchestra from 2004 to 2010. In 2008 and 2010, Emily was awarded the Exemplary Soloist Award from the Wisconsin State Music Association. Along with playing the horn, Emily enjoys jamming out on the electric bass guitar for the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, a student association at Eastman. In addition to bass guitar, Emily occasionally plays her secondary instrument, violin, and enjoys improvising with friends. Music being one of her first passions, Emily also likes to read, knit, run, and spend time with others.
Lucy Olson is a sophomore horn performance and music education double major from Haddonfield, NJ. She was a member of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra program and the Settlement Music School’s woodwind quintet program from 2004 to 2010. For the past two summers, Lucy performed in the Boston University Tanglewood Institute orchestra. Outside of school, Lucy enjoys playing with her standard poodle, Max, and volunteering every Saturday at the Eastman Community Music School.
Grace Shafer, a Horn Performance major from State College, Pennsylvania, is a sophomore at the Eastman School of Music. She has recently performed as a soloist with the State College Area High School Orchestra and the Center Pennsylvania Youth Orchestra. In the summers of 2009 and 2010, Grace attended the Bar Harbor Brass Festival. Grace is also an active singer and piano player, and she especially loves to participate in choral ensembles. A few of the many activities she enjoys are reading, writing, running, and playing with kids! With a particular fondness for low horn, Grace hopes to pursue a career in orchestral playing.
Juniors:
Russell Rybicki is a junior Music Education major from Austin, Texas. He has marched drum corps with the Crossmen and Carolina Crown as well as frequently performs with his church choir back home. When not practicing or studying, he enjoys exercising at the gym, playing soccer and racquetball, cooking, and hanging out with friends.
Kelly Suthers is a junior Music Performance major from California.
Hornist Renée Vogen, a native of the Chicagoland area, resides in Rochester, NY and is currently a junior at the Eastman School of Music. This past summer she received an honorable mention at the International Horn Symposium’s Dorothy Frizelle Mock Audition Competition in San Fransisco. Renée has performed under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel, Neil Varon, Mark Scatterday, Jeff Tyzik, Allen Tinkham, and Cliff Colnot. Renée made her solo debut in the spring of 2009 with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra when she performed Mozart’s Second Horn Concerto. Renée has studied with Kristy Morrell, Jon Boen, and Tim Jones. Her primary mentor and inspiration is current teacher W. Peter Kurau.
Seniors:
Sami Ashworth is a senior from California.
Jon Dozois is a senior Music Performance and Education major from New Jersey.
Eric Orwoll is a senior from California.
Allyson Schuler is a senior Horn Performance and Economics Major from Fairfield, OH. When at home she plays with the Cincinnati Horn Connection and subs at an Early Childhood Development Center. At Eastman she is an active member of Sigma Alpha Iota and a member of the University of Rochester’s National Society of Collegiate Scholars. She was the 2007 winner of the David Belew Solo Competition, which was one of the most rewarding pre-college experiences of her early horn life. In her free time Ally enjoys cooking, card games, and spending time with friends and family.
Graduate and Continuing Students:
Like many children, Mike Alexander was born. After a brief foray into the oboe section he turned back to the glory of the French horn, whereupon he discovered a knack for the instrument and chose to apply to Eastman. After a successful stint as Principal Horn of the Minnesota Opera, he is currently finishing his “victory lap” at Eastman, returning as a fifth year senior. Mike hopes to someday play in a full-time orchestra and to open a sandwich shop.
Shelly Mammoser is a Music Education major from Chicago completing her student teaching semester.
Claude Lumley is a first year Masters student from San Antonio, Texas. His undergraduate study, in Horn Performance, was completed at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Claude has performed with the Waco Symphony Orchestra and Victoria Symphony Orchestra and has studied with Jeffrey Powers, William VerMeulen, Michal Gast, and Jeff Garza. When Claude is not practicing or performing he likes ponder new ways to make food with more bacon, or any other type of meat, watch football, and talk to his wonderful girlfriend Julie.
student at the Eastman School of Music and is pursuing degrees in horn performance and music education and a certificate in arts leadership. Emily is constantly inspired by music and wants to spread her passion in every way possible as a performer, teacher, and innovator. She has performed in various summer music festivals, including Aspen, Sarasota, and the Youth Orchestra of the Americas. Prior to moving to Rochester, Emily taught horn extensively in Houston public schools for two years and in YOURS, an inner-city after-school music program in Chicago, for one year. Given her appreciation for and love of teaching, she is especially thankful for the teachers who’ve provided support and guidance during her past thirteen years of horn-playing, including Peter Kurau of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Tod Bowermaster of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Besides performing and teaching, Emily has entrepreneurial interests in music. She has interned with the Arts and Cultural Council for Greater Rochester and volunteers as a development associate for the Rochester Oratorio Society. Emily started Sound ExChange, a new student-run Eastman orchestra, in the fall of 2011 to make a positive change in the position of classical music in society. Sound ExChange is devoted to presenting classical music in creative ways to facilitate audience engagement. Emily is excited about the creativity young musicians bring to classical music and hopes Sound ExChange will ignite a music revolution.Allison Akins is a second year Master’s student. She attended the University of Kansas for her undergraduate degree.
Lauren Becker is a second year Doctor of Musical Arts candidate majoring in Horn Performance and Literature. Originally from Rhode Island, she has lived in Rochester, NY since 2006. She received a Master of Music degree in Horn Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music in 2008 and holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of New Hampshire in Music Education. In addition to her studies, Lauren is Lecturer of Horn at Nazareth College and a Horn Instructor at the Eastman Community Music School. During the summers she is a staff member at Kendall Betts Horn Camp and Horn Instructor at the New York Summer Music Festival. In her spare time, Lauren is an avid shopper at Wegmans (the best grocery store in the world) and the Rochester Public Market, where she finds delicious ingredients for baking and cooking vegetarian dishes. She also enjoys reading, spending time outdoors (even in the snowy weather), and developing and maintaining the Eastman Horn Blog.
Eastman School of Music Horn Studio 2010-2011
