Western Hornist
2021 Western Horn Festival with Andrew Bain
Hosted by Dr. Jena Gardner
The Western Illinois University Horn Studio held its annual Horn Festival on April 10, 2021 as a streaming event on Zoom and YouTube. Special guests included the Mr. Andrew Bain (LA Philharmonic); the ‘Rona Quartet (Jeremiah Frederick, Mary Jo Neher, John Schreckengost, and Joanna Schulz); Steven Cohen and composers, Gina Gillie, Drew Phillips, James Naigus, Kevin Day & Randall Faust; WIU Horn Alumni, Eric Linke; and WIU Faculty, Dr. Jena Gardner, horn and Joanne Chang, piano. Participants joined in from all over the world for sessions on warmup, commissioning new works, ancestral horns, and more!Andrew Bain
Andrew Bain was appointed to the Chair of Principal Horn of the Los Angeles Philharmonic by Gustavo Dudamel in May 2011.
Born and raised in Australia, Andrew was first introduced to music at age 8 when he took up the piano. Four years later, he was enrolled at Brighton High School in their special music program and soon after switched to the French horn because he loved the sound. Andrew ultimately received a Bachelor in Music from the Elder Conservatorium of Music at the University of Adelaide studying with Patrick Brislan. He furthered his studies with Geoff Collinson in Sydney, Hector McDonald in Vienna, and in 2003 completed a Graduate Diploma in Chamber Music under Will Sanders in Karlsruhe, Germany.
Prior to moving to LA Andrew held positions of Principal Horn of the Melbourne Symphony, Queensland Symphony, Münchner Symphoniker and the Australian Opera & Ballet Orchestra, and Associate Principal Horn of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. From 2003-2012 he was the Principal Horn of the Colorado Music Festival.
A regarded solo artist, Andrew has appeared regularly as a soloist with the LA Phil since joining the orchestra. Andrew has also appeared at the front of the stage with the Melbourne and Queensland Symphony Orchestras, Colorado Music Festival, Colburn Orchestra and Music in the Round Festival. In 2015 Andrew presented the world premiere of Brad Warnaar's Horn Concerto with the Hollywood Chamber Orchestra and looks forward to recording the work in 2016. A keen chamber musician, Andrew loves to explore the possibilities of the horn in various ensembles and most recently gave the first performance of Geoffrey Gordon's Winterleben for Mezzo Soprano, Horn and Piano.
In addition to performing, Andrew is passionate about education and is proud to be the Horn Professor at the Colburn School Conservatory. Andrew has held teaching positions with the Australian National Academy of Music, University of Melbourne, Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music and Sydney Conservatorium. He has also given master classes and lectures throughout the United States, Europe and Australasia.
Throughout 2015 Andrew appeared as guest principal horn of the Chicago Symphony and Berlin Philharmonic and the Australian World Orchestra's concerts with Simon Rattle in Sydney and Melbourne and the AWO's groundbreaking tour throughout India with Zubin Mehta. As Co-host of the 2015 International Horn Symposium here in LA, Andrew was thrilled to welcome over 1000 horn players and musicians to the Colburn School for a week long celebration of everything horn!
Andrew can be heard on numerous Hollywood films and was overjoyed to fulfill the dream of a lifetime working with John William's as principal horn for the score of ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens.'
As well as appearing at the Hollywood Bowl with the LA Phil, over the Summer Andrew is the Principal Horn of the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego and faculty member of the Aspen Music Festival and School.
In addition to music, Andrew loves traveling, cooking and exploring L.A. with his beautiful wife, Rupal. If he's not working, you will most likely find him on the golf course trying to improve his handicap.
Steven Cohen
Steven Cohen has been heard internationally as a solo, orchestral, Broadway and chamber musician. Hailing from New York, he is in demand as a recital soloist, and has been a featured and guest artist at numerous horn events throughout the world. In February 2019, Cohen was featured on WQXR's Young Artists Showcase, presenting an internationally broadcast recital. His appearance on the program marked the first horn recital presented on the program since the 1990s. Cohen was a Special Guest Artist at the 51st International Horn Symposium, as well as a Contributing Artist at the 45th, 48th and 50th symposia. He can be seen with Mannheim Steamroller and is featured with the group on their 2015 release, "Mannheim Steamroller Live”. From 2010-2012, Cohen was Principal Horn with The New 25th Anniversary Production of Les Misérables.
A proponent for the creation of new music, Cohen has commissioned and premiered over 25 works from a distinguished collective of composers. His debut album, Cruise Control, features the world premieres of five major works for horn, and has been heralded as “a musical and technical tour de force.” Cohen's upcoming projects include the commissioning of two new concertos for horn and wind band, as well as his second album. Additionally, Cohen oversees The NU CORNO Ensemble, an ongoing endeavor dedicated to the commissioning and performance of new works for horn ensemble. The group has been featured at four International Horn Symposia and introduced over 15 works into the horn ensemble repertoire.
Cohen's love of the horn far extends just being a performer. As a lecturer, he has presented scholarship at the national and international level. His presentations have been presented at numerous International Horn Symposia, various national workshops, and universities worldwide. Aside from his presentations, Cohen is sought after as a clinician, presenting masterclasses at universities across the United States.
Cohen holds a Master of Music and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Cohen's principal teachers include Philip Myers, Dr. Alan Mattingly, and R. Allen Spanjer.
Dr. Jena Gardner
Jena Gardner, DMA, is the Assistant Professor of Horn at Western Illinois University. In addition to teaching, she is an active soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player throughout the state of Illinois and the United States. Dr. Gardner has performed extensively around the world including tours in Europe, Mexico, Japan, and the United States. She has been a guest section member with the Chicago Lyric Opera, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Intercontemporain, the Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra, Steamboat Springs Festival Orchestra horn sections and was acting 2nd and 4th horn of the Louisiana Philharmonic orchestra for the 2012 and 2013 seasons respectively.
Dr. Gardner is a passionate chamber musician and can be heard performing with the faculty ensembles at WIU: the Camerata Woodwind Quintet and the Lamoine Brass Quintet . From 2010-2015 she was a member of the Arabesque Winds. With that ensemble, she performed concerts and master classes at the University of Madison, Wisconsin, the Sanibel Music Festival, the Wooster Chamber Music Festival and many others.
In 2016 Dr. Gardner was the recipient of the Early Music America Summer Study Scholarship and attended the Natural Horn Workshop at Indiana University, studying with Dr. Richard Seraphinoff. Previously, she has participated in the Lucerne Festival Academy, the Youth Orchestras of America, New York String Orchestra Seminar, and the Pacific Music Festival. From 2007-09, Dr. Gardner was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and had the privilege to perform under the batons of Bernard Haitink, Pierre Boulez, Mark Elder, Esa-pekka Salonen and many others.
Dr. Gardner recently completed a Doctor of Musical Arts at Northwestern University under the guidance of Gail Williams and Jon Boen and was involved in presenting the 2016 and 2017 Peak Performance Horn Symposiums. She holds Masters and Bachelors degrees in horn performance from Carnegie Mellon and Northwestern Universities respectively. Her principal teachers have included Gail Williams, Jon Boen, Bill Caballero, Dave Krehbiel, and Jennie Blomster.
Joanne Chang
Described for her captivating and poetic musical interpretations, Malaysian pianist Joanne Chang has performed internationally in North America, Europe, and Asia. She has been featured on distinguished platforms including WQXR's Young Artist Showcase (New York), BFM's Front Row Podcast (Kuala Lumpur), Indiana University's Latin American Music Center (Bloomington), Music Academy of the West (Santa Barbara), and the National Youth Orchestra of China (Beijing).
Joanne is currently Faculty Assistant in Collaborative Piano at Western Illinois University. She previously held teaching positions at Indiana University, Florida State University, and Camp Encore/Coda. While at Indiana, Joanne founded the IU MTNA Collegiate Chapter and served as chapter president from 2019-20. Recent success include the release of debut album Diálogos (2018) featuring Mexican violin-piano music, first prize at the Charleston International Music Competition (2021), and presentations at major conferences including the CMS National Conference (2020), MTNA Collegiate Symposium (2020,21), and UCSI Piano Pedagogy Symposium (2019).
A doctoral candidate in Piano Performance and Literature at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, Joanne holds Minors in Music Theory and Arts Administration. Joanne received a MM degree in piano from Florida State University, a BM (summa cum laude) in piano from Kent State University, alongside an honors thesis written on French piano duet music. Joanne is currently working on a written project titled "Franz Liszt: The Bridge to Modernism."
Joanne's primary teachers are Karen Shaw, Read Gainsford, and Jerry Wong, with additional studies with Menahem Pressler and Joela Jones. Follow www.joannechangpiano.com for more updates.
Anneliese Land
Recruitment, Retention, and Admissions Coordinator
Email: A-Land2@wiu.edu
Phone: (309) 298-1087
Mrs. Anneliese Land is the Recruitment, Retention, and Admissions Coordinator for the School of Music at Western Illinois University (WIU) and is currently pursuing her Masters degree in Music Education at WIU. Mrs. Land graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) in Cincinnati, Ohio with a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education and Euphonium Performance in 2016.
Prior to her appointment at WIU, Mrs. Anneliese Land served as the Director of Bands and founder of the band program at Lakeland Middle Preparatory School (LMPS) in Lakeland, TN, which consistently earned Superior ratings at festivals and adjudicated events. Previously, Mrs. Land taught middle school band in Cincinnati, OH, then served as the Assistant Band Director at Cordova High School in Cordova, TN. During the summer months, Mrs. Land serves on faculty as Assistant Junior Band Director and Instructor of Instrument Exploration at the prestigious Interlochen Arts Camp in Interlochen, Michigan.
Rona Quartet
Three months into the pandemic four professional musicians who all play the horn responded to a suggestion to meet outdoors and make some music, just to feel normal for an afternoon. On June 14th we gathered in a backyard…and the rest...is history!
For almost a year now the ‘Rona Quartet has been defying the odds during the global COVID-19 pandemic. When music groups and venues everywhere were shuttered this group formed and hit the parks in Chicago. They brought music, a sense of community and normalcy to all within ears' reach. That outreach grew with Chicago's fall “stay at home” advisory. The ‘Rona four had to quickly pivot plans for a live holiday concert. Embracing technology and virtual everything they've re-written the norm on chamber music and it's audiences. What's coming in their second year? Follow them on Facebook and Instagram and you'll be among the first to find out what's next.
2021 WESTERN HORN FESTIVAL -- Video Archive
Group Warmup with ‘Rona Quartet
Masterclass with Andrew Bain & Roger Collins Award Winners
Performers:- Lauren Antoniolli, WIU Horn
- Danica Tuohy, Roger Collins Winner
- Payton Anthony, WIU Horn
- Luke Suarez, Roger Collins Winner
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