Horns

Robert Johnson: Principal Horn

Robert Johnson studied horn at the NSW Conservatorium and after spending a year in the ABC Training Orchestra he joined the West Australian Symphony Orchestra as Third Horn. He was appointed Principal Horn in 1977 and appeared numerous times as soloist with the WASO and the Perth Wind Quintet, which regularly toured Western Australia and recorded for ABC Radio.

He joined the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as Associate Principal Horn before leaving in 1979 to pursue further study in Europe and the USA. Returning to Sydney in 1981, he took up the position of Principal Horn with the Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra, and in 1986 he rejoined the SSO as Principal Horn.

In 1990 Robert Johnson performed Strauss’s Horn Concerto No.1 and devised a program for the SSO’s Music for Spring series, appearing as soloist and conductor. In 1991 he acted as Artistic Director for the Amadeus Wind Players’ series of concerts at the Sydney Conservatorium, and also appeared as soloist with the SSO in performances of Ross Edwards’ Aria and Transcendental Dance at the Seymour Centre. Other highlights with the SSO include performances of Mozart’s Horn Concerto No.2 in 1992 and Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings in 1993.

Robert Johnson works regularly with the Australia Ensemble and Sydney Soloists, and was a founding member of the Chamber Soloists of Sydney. He has also taught at the Sydney Conservatorium and the Canberra School of Music. 

Ben Jacks: Principal Horn

Ben Jacks was born in Hobart in 1975 and studied French horn at the University of Western Australia with Heidi Kepper. He subsequently studied with Dale Clevenger and Gail Williams in Chicago, Stefan Dohr in Berlin, Professor Erich Penzel in Cologne and Hector McDonald in Vienna.

He was appointed Principal Horn in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 2001, having held the position of Principal Third Horn in the orchestra since 1998. He has worked with numerous Australian orchestras, performing as Guest Principal Horn with the Tasmanian, Adelaide, Queensland and Melbourne symphony orchestras and the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra. In 2003 he performed as a soloist with the Sydney and West Australian symphony orchestras and the Academy of Melbourne.

Ben Jacks has a busy solo and chamber music career, performing in recitals and brass quintets, and is also in demand as a teacher. He has tutored for the Australian Youth Orchestra and is currently a lecturer in horn at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Geoff O’Reilly: Principal 3rd Horn

Sydney-born Geoff O’Reilly began playing the French horn at the age of 14, having spent a number of years playing tenor horn in brass bands in Sydney, Gosford and Newcastle. In 1993 he graduated from the Canberra School of Music, before returning to Sydney where he played with the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. During this time he also performed with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.

Between 1991 and 1997, he made frequent trips to Germany to study with Professor Ab Koster at the Hamburg Conservatorium of Music. His other teachers have included Reg Bishop, Allan Mann, Clarence Mellor, Campbell Barnes, Dominic Harvey and Hector McDonald.

Geoff O’Reilly was appointed to the horn section of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in1995, and in 1998 he took up the post of French horn lecturer at the Newcastle Conservatorium of Music.

Lee Bracegirdle: Horn

Lee Bracegirdle began playing the French horn at the age of 14 in Philadelphia. He studied at the Philadelphia Musical Academy and then with James Chambers at the Juilliard School in New York, earning a Bachelor’s degree in1975 and a Master’s degree in 1976. He also studied with John Cerminaro and Carmine Caruso and performed as principal horn with the New York City Symphony Orchestra and the Brooklyn Philharmonia, as well as playing with many prominent jazz musicians, including Ornette Coleman, Teo Macera, and Dave Brubeck.

From 1976 to 1977 he was Co-Principal Horn with the Orquesta Filarmónica de la Unam (Mexico) and Principal Horn with the Chamber Orchestra of Mexico City. In 1977 he moved to Germany and performed with the International Youth Festival Orchestra in Bayreuth. That same year he was appointed Solo-Horn with the Hofer Symphoniker in Bavaria, appearing frequently with the orchestra as a concerto soloist. He also co-founded the brass quintet Rekkenze Brass.

In 1980 he joined the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as Associate Principal Horn. He has made numerous recordings for the ABC as a soloist and chamber musician, and in 1981 co-founded the Australian Brass Quintet with colleagues from the SSO. He has edited horn studies for the IMC (New York) and published his own horn studies and chamber music (3C Musikverlag, Bochum). He has given masterclasses at the Salzburg Mozarteum, Juilliard School, Curtis Institute and the University of Illinois. In 2000 he toured with Barbra Streisand as Principal Horn of the Australian International Orchestra.

Lee Bracegirdle studied conducting at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, making his debut conducting the Mozarteum Orchestra. He began composing in the late 1990s and in 1998 won the Kodály Composers’ Competition in Chicago. Three of his major orchestral works have been premiered by the SSO and in April 2012 he will be composer-in-residence at Brahms’ house in Baden-Baden.

Euan Harvey: Horn

After completing degrees in Music and Business Administration at Victoria University of Wellington, Euan Harvey worked as a corporate tax specialist in New Zealand, becoming a Chartered Accountant in 2002 before taking up a Fulbright Scholarship to study orchestral performance at the Manhattan School of Music with Erik Ralske and Michelle Baker. During this time he worked as a freelance musician with ensembles in and around New York and made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2003. He has also spent time studying in London, Salzburg and Berlin, and in 2004 he was invited by Leon Botstein to play Principal horn with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra.

As a chamber musician, he has performed in America with ensembles such as Windscape and Happy-hour Brass, in Europe with the Verbier Festival Wind Quintet and in New Zealand with the new music ensemble Stroma.

Euan Harvey was formerly co-principal horn of the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra, Switzerland and toured with that orchestra to some of the major concert halls of Europe, Asia and the Americas. He has performed with all of the major symphony orchestras in New Zealand, and prior to joining the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 2008, he was Sub Principal Horn with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra for four years.

Marnie Sebire: Horn

Marnie Sebire began playing the French horn at the age of 13 and completed her Bachelor’s degree at the Canberra School of Music. In 1997 she was principal horn of the Australian Youth Orchestra and Camerata Australia, with whom she toured internationally. She was also the first horn player to receive a scholarship from the Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne.

In 2000 she became the first woman to hold a permanent position in the Sydney Symphony brass section in more than 35 years. Highlights with the SSO have included the opening ceremonies for the Olympic Games and Rugby World Cup, and a tour of Italy.

She has performed with all of the major Australian orchestras and regularly participates in session recording work. She performed on the soundtrack to the 2008 movie Australia, and at the dawn service at ANZAC Cove in 2009, as well as on soundtracks for numerous television commercials.

In 2008 she performed with Australian band Silverchair during their run of performances for the Big Day Out tour, and she has subsequently worked with other Australian groups including Powderfinger, The Whitlams, Sleepy Jackson and Josh Pyke.