Jennifer Montone, principal horn of the Philadelphia Orchestra, chats with us about life in a principal chair. She discusses mental preparation, recovering from injuries, balancing the many facets of her life, and the concerts which made a lasting impact on her. You will find her energy and passion both uplifting and inspiring!
Details from this Episode
Noa Kageyama: Bulletproof Musician
Jeff Nelsen: Fearless Performance
Jen Sincero: You are a Badass
Eloise Ristad: A Soprano on her Head
Angela Cordell Bilger: Musicians Well– stories of musicians recovering from injuries
Grammy Award Winner Jennifer Montone has been hailed by the New York Times for her
“flawless horn solos… and warm and noble sound”. As Principal Horn of the Philadelphia
Orchestra, and a world acclaimed soloist, chamber musician and teacher, she has been
on the faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School since joining the
orchestra in 2006.
Previously the Principal Horn of the Saint Louis Symphony and Associate Principal Horn
of the Dallas Symphony, Ms. Montone was an adjunct professor at Southern Methodist
University, performer/faculty at the Aspen Music Festival and School, and coaches on
occasion at the New World Symphony. She was third horn of the New Jersey Symphony
from 1997-2000, and has performed as a guest artist with the Berlin Philharmonic, the
Cleveland Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Saint Paul Chamber
Orchestra, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic.
Soloist
Jennifer Montone regularly performs as a soloist, with orchestras such as the Philadelphia
Orchestra, the Saint Louis Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, the National Symphony, the
Polish National Radio Symphony, the Warsaw National Philharmonic, among others. Her
recording of the Penderecki Horn Concerto, “Winterreise” with the Warsaw National
Philharmonic won a 2013 Grammy Award in the category of “Best Classical
Compendium”. Other recordings include “Jennifer Montone Performs”– her first solo cd,
“Still Falls the Rain”– works of Benjamin Britten, “Gabrieli” by the National Brass
Ensemble, “Philadelphia Orchestra, Tchaikovsky and Ewald”- featuring the orchestra’s
principals brass quintet, and Song of Shinobeu”- works of Haruka Watanabe.
Recitals and Chamber Music
Jennifer Montone made her Carnegie Weil Hall solo recital debut on October 22, 2008. She
has enjoyed appearing as a featured artist at many International Horn Society workshops,
and as a soloist and collaborator with artists such as Emmanuel Ax, Eric Owens,
Christoph Eschenbach, Shmeul Ashkenazi, and Joseph Silverstein, and David Soyer,
among many others.
As a chamber musician Ms. Montone performs with the Chamber Music Society of
Lincoln Center, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival,
National Brass Ensemble, Strings Music Festival in Steamboat Springs, Bravo Vail
Chamber Music Festival,Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival, La Jolla Chamber
Music Festival, Bay Chamber Concerts, Spoleto Italy Chamber Music Festival, and the
Marlboro Music Festival.
Schools and Awards
Jennifer Montone is a graduate of the Juilliard School, where she studied with Julie
Landsman, legendary pedagogue and former principal horn of the Metropolitan Opera.
In May 2006 Ms. Montone was awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant. She
is also the winner of the 1996 Paxman Young Horn Player of the Year Award in London,
England. A native of northern Virginia, Ms. Montone studied with Edwin Thayer, principal
horn of the National Symphony, in the National Symphony Orchestra Youth Fellowship
Program. She is married to double bass player, Timothy Ressler, and immensely enjoys
spending time with her two young sons, Max and Felix.