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John Ericson

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Posts by John Ericson

Want a Horn Scholarship Someday? Think about Good Grades

Following up on my post earlier this year about grades in music theory classes if you are thinking graduate study of the horn, we turn to the topic of undergrad admissions and scholarships.

In general, you can get into many schools with a fairly low GPA but if you want a scholarship in horn you need [...]

Ericson Hits the Road: Regional Workshop Time for 2010

2010 is a year that finds five regional United States horn workshops in the offing, starting up this coming weekend. On our Horn Matters events page you can find all the dates and links to information on the Northeast Horn Workshop, the Mid-South Horn Workshop, the Southeast Horn Workshop, the Northwest Horn Symposium, and [...]

Hornmasters: Berv on Horns

Part 3 of 3 in "Hornmasters on Horns" 

For Harry Berv in A Creative Approach to the French Horn the double horn was the horn of choice.
In school systems, single F and Bb horns are available for students who do not intend to pursue performance on the horn as a career. But the student who intends to major in horn should start on [...]

Bobby Corno plays Beethoven 5

Hearing Beethoven 5 yesterday I was reminded of the classic bit by Peter Schickele, “New Horizons in Music Appreciation.” It presents the first movement of Beethoven 5 as though it were a sporting event with play-by-play commentary, and hornist Bobby Corno fits in prominently.

It did not take long to find a version of this bit [...]

Video, 1959, Featuring the BSO Horn Section

A friend sent a link to a YouTube video featuring the horn section of the BSO in 1959. According to the information there,
Sir John Barbirolli conducts An Elizabethan Suite “The King’s Hunt.” From: VAI DVD 4304 Boston Symphony Orchestra Historic Telecasts: Sir John Barbirolli. The only extant video of Sir Johns work with the [...]

Hornmasters: Schuller on Horns

Part 2 of 3 in "Hornmasters on Horns" 

On instruments for beginners Gunther Schuller in Horn Technique keeps his advice simple, not taking a stand for any particular type of horn, noting on the very first page of his text to “seek professional advice from an established teacher or player.” Later however he goes into more detail.
Except in special situations (e.g., the performance [...]

The Big Three Horn Concertos

One discussion horn teachers have over and over with students is that of trying to select works for recitals. Years ago in a lesson with Verne Reynolds he suggested that I perform one of what he called the “big three” concertos, and ultimately I studied two of them with him as a student at Eastman [...]