CLASSICS BIOGRAPHIES

age nine she started studying the French horn, mostly due to her mother telling her she thought it sounded pretty and a strong desire to play something loud. She was accepted to the Julliard School when she was 16.

Her Studies with Julie Landsman (retired principal horn of the Metropolitan Opera) led her to winning the Juilliard Strauss Horn Concerto competition, the Aspen Music Festival Fellowship Award, and the Aspen Wind Solo Competition, as well as cultivating a love for the operatic repertoire. Carolyn spent many evenings attending the Metropolitan Opera during her schooling.

When Carolyn was twenty-one she earned a position in the Colorado Symphony horn section through a national audition. As she was currently in the second year of her fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival, she was delighted to start a life in Colorado having fallen in love with the state. She left briefly to play Assistant Utility Horn in the Saint Louis Symphony but was eventually relieved to return to Colorado, mostly due to the weather of the Midwest.

Matthew Eckenhoff

Matthew Eckenhoff joined the Colorado Symphony horn section in 2018. He was previously second horn for the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and a member of the New World Symphony, Britt Music Festival, Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, and the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra.

Matt is a hornist and educator with an active national and international concert schedule. A native of Philadelphia, he earned his bachelor’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music where he studied with Cleveland Orchestra hornists Eli Epstein and Richard King. He went on to earn his master’s degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder under the instruction of Colorado Symphony Orchestra principal horn Michael Thornton. After graduating, Matt moved to Houston, Texas and studied for two years with the principal horn of the Houston Symphony, William VerMeulen.

In 2018, Matt joined the Colorado Symphony as fourth horn. He also joined the faculty of University of Colorado at Boulder for the 2019-2020 school year as a Lecturer, teaching the undergraduate horn performance majors. Before moving to Denver, he served as second horn of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra for 5 seasons. In addition to his performance duties, Matt was honored to serve the LPO as Orchestra President for the 2016-2017 season. Prior to his time in New Orleans, Matt was a member of the New World Symphony, under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. He has also held positions with the Britt Music Festival, the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra and the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra. In addition, he has appeared with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Houston Grand Opera, among others. Matt has also enjoyed working as a studio musician, appearing on movie soundtracks, albums by Béla Fleck and Ingrid Michaelson, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic’s recordings of Wagner’s Die Walküre and Siegfried.

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