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Horns Aplenty
YOUNGSTOWN
Northeast Ohio, particularly Youngstown State University’s Dana School of Music, is a hotbed for horn players.
“The level of talent is quite high and has been for a long time, harkening back to William Slocum and Lois Hopkins, former horn instructors at Dana,” said Lowell Greer, internationally recognized horn player, who was guest professional musician at Sunday’s fourth annual “YSU Horn Workshop” at Dana.
And the future looks bright for the horn program at Dana with Iowa native Stacie Mickens as assistant professor of horn, the force behind the workshop, a growing event.
“Stacie is one of the most talented horn players of her generation,” said Greer.
About 60 horn players from high school and college plus older players participated in the workshop, which included opportunities for individual players to be critiqued and the group directed by Greer.
Lesson No. 1: To much of the noninstrumental music world, a horn is a trumpet or a coronet or a trombone or a tuba or a baritone; but not in Bliss Hall’s Room 2326, where “horn” players performed, learned and enjoyed being with like-minded people.
To them, a horn is what many think of as a French horn. The horn is a descendant of the natural horn, which does not have valves, and is in turn a descendant of the hunting horn.
The value of a horn workshop such as this is that it brings together regional horn students from middle school through college and even adult horn players and horn teachers to help form a community of people with a shared interest, said Mickens.
Bringing in a different professional guest artist each year allows students to hear, first-hand, professional level playing and to learn from the guest’s varied experiences.
“Lowell has recorded some of the finest examples of natural horn playing on the standard repertoire for our instrument, plus has taught and played at some of the finest organizations in the country,” Mickens said.
“We have some great local horn teachers and band directors in the area, and I hope to see the quality and quantity of horn players continue to go up. A good horn player is invaluable, and there are many opportunities to play. We have the good fortune to be included in brass quintets and woodwind quintets, can perform solo, orchestral and band literature. The horn even has a growing place in the music of jazz,” Mickens said.
Some of the workshop attendees were Cheyenne Halderman, a senior at Berea-Midpark High School; Hannah Jones of Mc- Keesport, Pa., and Nate Cione of Sharon, Pa., both freshman music education majors at YSU; and Nancy Davidson of Hubbard, a 1969 graduate of Warren Western Reserve High School, where she played in the marching and concert bands and now plays in the Youngstown Area Community Concert Band.
“I put my horn away for many years, and then joined the community band,” said Davidson, for whom this was her third horn workshop.
“It is fun playing in a room full of horns. The young people are friendly and welcoming,” she said.
One of the young people is Halderman, who was switched from trumpet to horn by her instructor, and plays in the Contemporary Youth Orchestra in Cleveland.
“It’s very interesting playing in and hearing a whole room full of only horns,” said Jones.
Cione said he found the history of the horn interesting and that a deciding factor in coming to YSU was Mickens.
Also, he said the campus seemed like a second home, and it is close to home.
“The workshop helps my students at YSU because they get to play together and have the opportunity to play in a master class for the guest. I hope that the students who attend the event each year develop a positive feeling about YSU and the Dana School of Music and decide that they would like to be a music student here someday,” Mickens said.