The High School Hornist

Selecting  a Horn When it comes to choosing your equipment, I am a fan of the go-with-your-gut theory. If you pick something up and after a few minutes do not like it, it is probably not the best choice for you. In a world where there are just so many types of horns that exist and new builders entering the scene on a regular basis, it can be hard to know what you like and what will work for you. A good place to start is just to try everything you can get your hands on. See what your school owns, what your friends own, and get a sense of what you do and do not like. It can be useful to make a list to keep handy, but at the same time, two horns that should be exactly the same can play very different. Also check out local music stores in your area to see what they keep in stock regularly and if they would be willing to get a few things in for you to try. The best way to try the most variety is horn workshops/conferences/symposiums. The horn society website is the best place...

Selecting a Teacher When you start looking for college to attend, make a list of all of your options. Figure out if you are applying to schools just within your state or throughout the whole country/world and make a list of your options. Find the horn teacher’s profile on each school’s website and you should be able to get a sense of what kind of teacher and performer the teacher is. If possible, travel to each teacher and have a lesson when you are trying to choose where you are applying. At the least, have some email correspondence with the teacher so that a dialogue has been started and they know you are interested. Through lessons and communications, you can get the sense of whether you and the teacher would work well together. It is always ok if you do not feel like you would like to study with a particular teacher, just as it is ok that a teacher may not want to take you on as a student. It is all about finding the right fit. My suggestions are finding out what their stron...

Creating Your Brand : A Guide to Building a Successful Freelance Career By Tracy Bass University of Missouri - Kansas City Dissertation Points Credit Spring 2019 Introduction So you wanna freelance but... where do you even begin? The freelance life can be extremely rewarding, but requires more work than most people realize and is rarely an instant success. You need an attack plan and a promise of commitment to yourself. The obvious issues of location and socioeconomic level will be contributing factors to the outcome, but if you push yourself and be patient, you will be surprised at what is possible. The Essentials First and foremost, buy a planner. There are countless studies that have proven you remember more when you write things down. Plus, making lists and marking items off is more satisfying than deleting a note on your phone when you take a look back at what you have accomplished. Find a planner with plenty of space for you to jot things down q...

Women Writing Chamber Music For my Chamber Music Literature class, I created a presentation on chamber music works that have been written by women that include the horn. I wanted to write about works by women because they are so seldom heard. My goal was to find a video performance of each work so that the audience would have an audio and visual representation of the piece. This project was more difficult than expected in some ways. While there are a few resources that highlight chamber music by female composers, they are typically outdated and include pieces that I was not able to find any information on the composer, let alone the piece itself. The project was enjoyable to work on and I hope to be adding more pieces in the future. The current list highlights selections from 1849 to 2018. If you have any suggestions on pieces to add, please comment below! https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1MMmnOz8YykQakaPRcjYDzzHg0uwH97ch5ClT6KJjK8U