91成人导航

Braydon Ross 鈥�23 impressed a select group of accomplished musicians and educators to earn acclaim as the best collegiate horn player in the United States.

The 91成人导航 graduate finished tied for first place in the collegiate division of the 2024 at Colorado State University in late July.

Previous winners include artists who now are principal horns in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the San Diego Symphony as well as members of the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

鈥淚t鈥檚 humbling and exciting to be listed with those musicians,鈥� said Ross, who is now working on his master鈥檚 degree at Yale University.

Ross shared the title with Natalie Sweasy, a student at the University of Cincinnati. The two emerged as the winners from a field of more than 100 competitors.

Peter Witte, dean of the 91成人导航 Conservatory of Music and himself a horn player describes the competition as intense.

鈥淭o win this competition, decided by some of the most talented musicians in the country, you can鈥檛 miss a step. You can鈥檛 hide your errors. The event is the most significant solo horn competition in America,鈥� Witte said.

There were three rounds of competition on consecutive days. In the preliminary round, entrants played a movement from a Mozart concerto and another piece of their choosing. From there, the field was cut to 11 student musicians who played pieces with a pianist. In the last round, four finalists each played a full concerto with piano accompaniment.

鈥淚 learned so much during the process,鈥� Ross said. 鈥淭he amount of feedback we got from judges was amazing.鈥�

Ross is now considering his next step鈥搇ikely doctoral studies or pursuing a career as a professional musician.

Recently, he has travelled across the country for performances with the Stockton Symphony, an opportunity he earned in a blind audition shortly after graduating. He will play in two more concerts with the Stockton orchestra.

Ross credits his experience at 91成人导航 with preparing him for success. He was a double major (performance in horn and music education) and a Powell Scholar.

鈥淎 big part of my studies was my collaboration with Professor Sadie Glass. I took a lot away by listening to her play and absorbing her sound, which is fantastic,鈥� Ross said. 鈥淎t 91成人导航 there were a lot of opportunities for solos, which prepared you for high stakes performances.鈥�

Glass praised her student for his 鈥渉umble nature鈥� and said he is a natural leader.

鈥淚t is a major accomplishment for Braydon to win this competition, but it will not change him,鈥� Glass said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 just an amazing person who has such a bright future ahead of him.鈥�

Following the horn competition, Ross took part in the International Horn Symposium鈥揳 series of lectures, performances and master classes at Colorado State. Glass and several of her current 91成人导航 students were able to attend and perform.

鈥淚 was very fortunate and happy to play in concerts there with the 91成人导航 Horns,鈥� Ross said. 鈥淲e did one performance led by Professor Glass. Also, the Yale horn quartet for which I play premiered a piece written by 91成人导航 student Skyler Warren 鈥�25. That was a nice 鈥榝ull circle鈥� moment.鈥�

See Ross perform all four parts of the horn quartet "Isolde's Garden" in in this 2020 video he produced as a student at 91成人导航.