Musician Biographies

2017 Calling All Horns - Williams

Josh Michal sitting with french horn, smiling, indoors

A native of Ohio, Joshua Michal performs regularly with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. He is currently a member of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and plays 2nd horn with the Lancaster Music Festival.

He received his degrees from Indiana University (B.M.), Northwestern University (M.M.), and The Ohio State University (D.M.A.).

He currently resides in Hatfield, MA with his violinist wife, their schizophrenic cat, and lovable white schnauzer.

 

 

 

 

Jean Jeffries standing with french horn, indoors, smiling

Jean Jeffries performs, teaches and lectures throughout New England on modern, classical and baroque horn. A graduate of Harvard College committed to liberal arts education and creative approaches to learning, Jean provides students with tools to analyze, interpret and articulate musical ideas, then shape them into performance. Teaching horn and coaching chamber music at three of the Five Colleges inspires her to play with joy and an ever-evolving musical perspective. Jean’s interest in promoting contemporary music has resulted in several commissions, the two most recent of which have featured local composers: a setting for tenor, horn and piano of Elizabeth Bishop’s poem, “The Fish,” by Pulitzer Prize winning composer Lewis Spratlan, and “The Rusalka,” for horn and piano, by Clifton J. Noble.
 
Jean’s horn teachers include Robert Abernathy, Laura Klock and Rick Seraphinoff. But teachers come in many forms, and she would like to thank her family, friends, students and colleagues, all of whom add regularly to her compendium of knowledge, experience and understanding.

 

 

 

Rebecca Krause-Hardie smiling with trees in background

Rebecca Krause-Hardie has had a varied and diverse career beginning as 2nd horn in the Phoenix Symphony following graduation from the Juilliard School in 1980.  Rebecca played regularly with the San Francisco Symphony and Santa Rosa Symphonies in Ca.  She was the competition winner of the South Orange Symphony (NJ) performing the Gliere Horn Concerto.  Exploring opportunities that presented themselves, led to work as the Orchestra Manager of the Detroit Symphony, the Director of New Media for the American Symphony Orchestra League, and the CFO of Voyager Publishing. Currently Rebecca splits her time between playing horn whenever possible and helping performing arts groups in the effective use of new media.

 

 

 

Christine Mortensen sitting, holding horn, smilingChristine Mortensen got a bachelors degree in music from Oberlin Conservatory (1985) and a masters degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (1988).  She has long been a teacher and free-lance performer of the French horn in western Massachusetts as well as in southern VT and NH, appearing with such ensembles as the Massachusetts Wind Orchestra, Berkshire Brass Quintet, Arcadia Players, Ensemble Bacchanal, The Cor Corps, Bennington Woodwind Quintet, Keene Chamber Orchestra, Windham Orchestra, Berkshire Symphony and Bennington Woodwind Quintet.

 

 

Margot Rowland sitting, playing hornMargot Rowland holds Bachelor and Master degrees in music from the University of Michigan and the Hartt School of Music.  Her horn teachers have included Charles Kavalovski of the Boston Symphony, Louis Stout, and David Jolly.  She is principal hornist with the Pioneer Valley Symphony and is a frequent performer throughout New England with groups such as the Massachusetts Wind Orchestra, Clarion Brass Quintet, The Cor Corps, Keene Chamber Orchestra, Albany Symphony, Williamstown Theater Festival and the Westwind Quintet.  As a music educator, she has been on the faculties of the Longmeadow Public Schools, Westfield State College, Holyoke Community College and Univ. of Massachusetts at Amherst.

 

 

 

Laura Klock smiling, standing with horn, smilingFormerly principal horn with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Laura Klock has also performed as guest principal horn with orchestras from Portland, Maine to Portland, Oregon.
At age 22, Ms. Klock was appointed to the faculty of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst where she was Professor of Horn until the spring of 2014. As a chamber musician, Ms. Klock has also performed with the Mohawk Trail Concerts, the Musicorda Festival, the Monadnock Music Festival, Chamber Music Plus in Hartford, the North Country Chamber Players, and the New England Bach Festival in Marlboro, VT.

 

 

 

 

Fleur Barnes-Rowell, sitting, playing hornFleur Barnes-Rowell began the horn at age 13 in order to sit next to a cute boy in 8th grade band. He turned out to be a dud, but the horn stuck. She studied music education and horn at Indiana University and the University of Massachusetts, taught middle school band for 15+ years, played in summer stock in Carmel Valley, California, and has played with orchestras and bands in Indiana, Kentucky, California, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine and Norway. She continues to work as a middle school guest conductor and adjudicator.