The magic of the horn lives in its tone. Its amber-golden sound enraptures us in a spell and gathers us in. But the fickle horn doesn’t give up its secrets easily, and its honey-laden tone lays behind bars for most of us. The mysteries of the horn are subtle and not easily unlocked.

The normal teaching about tone, like having “firm corners,” “support from the diaphragm,” and a “bigger oral cavity” simply does not work. These concepts create tension, and they stifle tone, range and articulation.

Instead of a strength based approach, students studying with me learn a movement based approach to playing. This creates solid fundamentals that both sound good and make playing feel good. My method lays the groundwork for a lifetime of beautiful playing without pain or self doubt.

Students studying with me get access to knowledge from my lineage of my teachers. My primary teachers are professors at the Juilliard and Colburn School, as well as principal horn players with the Metropolitan Opera and Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestras.

“It’s been a pleasure to work with Spencer over his three summers in Aspen. I hope he gets the chance to pass along what we’ve been working on to a younger generation of horn players.”-Andrew Bain; Los Angeles Philharmonic, principal horn

I excel at teaching all ages, and especially enjoy teaching adult learners. They often come to the instrument with a renewed passion, and I enjoy helping them nurture their sense of meaning and community through music.