Health

A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Lucinda Lewis began her musical studies at the age of 9. From 1964-68, she was a student of Kansas City Philharmonic hornist James Funkhouser. She entered the Manhattan School of Music in 1968, where she studied with Clarendon Van Norman, principal horn of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and earned degrees of Bachelor and Masters of Music Performance. After three years in Israel, Lewis became the principal horn of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra in 1977. She served as an officer and governing board member of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM) from 1990-2002.

In 2000, Lewis launched an informational web site for brass players, Embouchures.com. In 2002, she published Broken Embouchures, a book dealing with the overuse and performance-related injuries of brass players, and is a much sought-after expert in the treatment of such injuries. In June, 2005, she was invited to join the faculty of the Performing Arts Medical Association during their annual symposium in Aspen, Colorado.

Lucinda Lewis is also a successful artist and goldsmith. In 1968, she was awarded the National Gold Metal in sculpture and has exhibited her works throughout the United States. A successful jewelry designer, Lewis creates original intarcia (inlaid stones) designs set in gold and silver.

Janet Horvath, associate principal cello of the Minnesota Orchestra for more than two decades, is a soloist, chamber musician, writer and advocate for injury prevention. A trail-blazer in speaking and writing openly about the physical stresses experienced by musicians, she has contributed importantly to the awareness of musicians’ work-related ailments and their prevention. She is in demand all over the nation for her seminars, “Playing (less) Hurt.” Through her efforts, which have included precedent-setting presentations before professional symphony orchestras, Ms. Horvath has contributed significantly to improvements in working conditions for all orchestra musicians. The Injury Prevention Guide for Musicians, which benefits from her decades of lecturing, teaching, and research in the field of performing arts medicine, applies not only to symphony orchestra instrumentalists, but also to professional, amateur, and student musicians in all disciplines.

In 1992 Ms. Horvath received the American String Teachers Association Service Award in recognition of her outstanding efforts on behalf of musicians’ health; in 2001 she was selected to deliver the Richard J. Lederman keynote lecture at the Performing Arts Medicine Association’s nineteenth Annual Symposium on Medical Problems of Musicians and Dancers in Aspen.

Janet Horvath, associate principal cello of the Minnesota Orchestra for more than two decades, is a soloist, chamber musician, writer and advocate for injury prevention. A trail-blazer in speaking and writing openly about the physical stresses experienced by musicians, she has contributed importantly to the awareness of musicians’ work-related ailments and their prevention. She is in demand all over the nation for her seminars, “Playing (less) Hurt.” Through her efforts, which have included precedent-setting presentations before professional symphony orchestras, Ms. Horvath has contributed significantly to improvements in working conditions for all orchestra musicians. The Injury Prevention Guide for Musicians, which benefits from her decades of lecturing, teaching, and research in the field of performing arts medicine, applies not only to symphony orchestra instrumentalists, but also to professional, amateur, and student musicians in all disciplines.

In 1992 Ms. Horvath received the American String Teachers Association Service Award in recognition of her outstanding efforts on behalf of musicians’ health; in 2001 she was selected to deliver the Richard J. Lederman keynote lecture at the Performing Arts Medicine Association’s nineteenth Annual Symposium on Medical Problems of Musicians and Dancers in Aspen.

Janet Horvath, associate principal cello of the Minnesota Orchestra for more than two decades, is a soloist, chamber musician, writer and advocate for injury prevention. A trail-blazer in speaking and writing openly about the physical stresses experienced by musicians, she has contributed importantly to the awareness of musicians’ work-related ailments and their prevention. She is in demand all over the nation for her seminars, “Playing (less) Hurt.” Through her efforts, which have included precedent-setting presentations before professional symphony orchestras, Ms. Horvath has contributed significantly to improvements in working conditions for all orchestra musicians. The Injury Prevention Guide for Musicians, which benefits from her decades of lecturing, teaching, and research in the field of performing arts medicine, applies not only to symphony orchestra instrumentalists, but also to professional, amateur, and student musicians in all disciplines.

In 1992 Ms. Horvath received the American String Teachers Association Service Award in recognition of her outstanding efforts on behalf of musicians’ health; in 2001 she was selected to deliver the Richard J. Lederman keynote lecture at the Performing Arts Medicine Association’s nineteenth Annual Symposium on Medical Problems of Musicians and Dancers in Aspen.

Janet Horvath, associate principal cello of the Minnesota Orchestra for more than two decades, is a soloist, chamber musician, writer and advocate for injury prevention. A trail-blazer in speaking and writing openly about the physical stresses experienced by musicians, she has contributed importantly to the awareness of musicians’ work-related ailments and their prevention. She is in demand all over the nation for her seminars, “Playing (less) Hurt.” Through her efforts, which have included precedent-setting presentations before professional symphony orchestras, Ms. Horvath has contributed significantly to improvements in working conditions for all orchestra musicians. The Injury Prevention Guide for Musicians, which benefits from her decades of lecturing, teaching, and research in the field of performing arts medicine, applies not only to symphony orchestra instrumentalists, but also to professional, amateur, and student musicians in all disciplines.

In 1992 Ms. Horvath received the American String Teachers Association Service Award in recognition of her outstanding efforts on behalf of musicians’ health; in 2001 she was selected to deliver the Richard J. Lederman keynote lecture at the Performing Arts Medicine Association’s nineteenth Annual Symposium on Medical Problems of Musicians and Dancers in Aspen.

Janet Horvath, associate principal cello of the Minnesota Orchestra for more than two decades, is a soloist, chamber musician, writer and advocate for injury prevention. A trail-blazer in speaking and writing openly about the physical stresses experienced by musicians, she has contributed importantly to the awareness of musicians’ work-related ailments and their prevention. She is in demand all over the nation for her seminars, “Playing (less) Hurt.” Through her efforts, which have included precedent-setting presentations before professional symphony orchestras, Ms. Horvath has contributed significantly to improvements in working conditions for all orchestra musicians. The Injury Prevention Guide for Musicians, which benefits from her decades of lecturing, teaching, and research in the field of performing arts medicine, applies not only to symphony orchestra instrumentalists, but also to professional, amateur, and student musicians in all disciplines.

In 1992 Ms. Horvath received the American String Teachers Association Service Award in recognition of her outstanding efforts on behalf of musicians’ health; in 2001 she was selected to deliver the Richard J. Lederman keynote lecture at the Performing Arts Medicine Association’s nineteenth Annual Symposium on Medical Problems of Musicians and Dancers in Aspen.

Alice Brandfonbrener received her BA from Wellesley College and her MD from Columbia. She is an Assistant Professor in the department of Medicine Feinberg Medical College of Northwestern University as well as in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and has served as Adjunct Assistant Professor at Northwestern Music School. She is director of the Medical Program for Performing Artists at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, and served as Editor of the journal Medical Problems of Performing Artists from 1986-2005. From 1971-1977 she was Medical Director of the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan and from 1978-1985 was the physician for the Aspen Music School and Festival. She is a co-author of the text, Performing Arts Medicine, and has contributed chapters to many books including The Handbook of Research on Music Teaching and Learning.

Bill Hunt has been a professional tax accountant since 1993. His tax preparation career began with H&R Block, where he prepared individual tax returns for ten years. He now manages his own tax practice, preparing individual as well as corporate tax returns, and specializing in tax returns for musicians. He is an Enrolled Agent with the Internal Revenue Service, allowing him to represent clients before the IRS. Bill holds a Master of Business Administration degree with concentrations in Finance and Corporate Accounting from the Simon School of Business Administration at the University of Rochester.

In addition to his tax career, Mr. Hunt has been a member of the First Violin section of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra since 1975, and also serves as Concertmaster for the Penfield Symphony. He has been guest soloist with the Penfield Symphony, Fredonia Chamber Players, Cincinnati Community Orchestra, and The Society for Chamber Music in Rochester. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Cincinnati and a Master of Music degree from the University of Michigan.

Penny Anderson Brill is a violist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. She was Chair of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Committee (PSOC) and Treasurer of ICSOM. She is currently a member of the AW Mellon Elephant Task Force. For the past six years she has been developing a music and wellness program for orchestra musicians. She helps musicians develop the skills necessary for this work, as well as helping them identify resources and collaborators who will improve the quality and effectiveness of the orchestra’s community engagement efforts.

She has been featured on NBC and CBS, as well as most of the local television stations. She also appeared in or wrote articles for Health Magazine, BBC Music Magazine, the British Medical Association Newsletter, Symphony Magazine, Harmony Magazine, the International Musician, and many others. She has won a number of local and national awards for her work.

Samantha George has been the Associate Concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra since 1999 and was the Acting Concertmaster of the MSO for the 2002-2003 season. Before joining the MSO, she was the Assistant Concertmaster of the Colorado Symphony and the Hartford Symphony, and was a guest concertmaster with the Charleston Symphony and the Oregon Symphony. She holds BM, MM, and Performer's Certificate degrees from the Eastman School of Music, and a DMA from the University of Connecticut. Active as a soloist and chamber musician in the Midwest, she also coaches young musicians in chamber music and audition preparation. Samantha worked closely with Dr. Alice Brandfonbrener (Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago) after being diagnosed with focal dystonia in April, 2004. She did not perform publicly for six months while she made an extensive study of health issues affecting string players and retrained her left hand. She has successfully returned to a full-time performing schedule.