William VerMeulen is an American horn player. He has been Principal Horn of the Houston Symphony Orchestra

Houston Symphony Orchestra

The Houston Symphony is an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas. Since 1966, it has performed at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts in downtown Houston....

 since 1990. Before joining the HSO, he was a member of the Columbus Symphony, Honolulu Symphony

Honolulu Symphony

The Honolulu Symphony, also known as the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, was founded in 1900. The Honolulu Symphony is the oldest symphony orchestra in the USA west of the Rocky Mountains. Originally housed in a clubhouse on the slopes of Punchbowl, the Honolulu Symphony now plays from the Neal S...

, and Kansas City Philharmonic. He is Professor of Horn at the Shepherd School of Music

Shepherd School of Music

The Shepherd School of Music is a university school of music located on the campus of Rice University in Houston, Texas. Shepherd School is itself very selective, accepting overall about 10-15% of all graduate applicants and 15% of all undergraduate applicants...

 at Rice University

Rice University

William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...

 in Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

. In addition, he maintains an active solo and chamber music career with appearances at Music@Menlo

Music@Menlo

Music@Menlo is an annual summer chamber music festival in San Francisco, California. The festival was founded in 2003 by cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han. American Public Media says that "Music@Menlo has rapidly become one of the world's top-tier chamber music festivals due to the quality...

 and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

Early life

VerMeulen was born on January 3, 1961 in Lake Forest, Illinois

Lake Forest, Illinois

Lake Forest is an affluent city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The city is south of Waukegan along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the North Shore. Lake Forest was founded around Lake Forest College and was laid out as a town in...

, to a veterinarian father and an semi-professional cellist mother. He sang in church choir and was enrolled in piano lessons from a young age. After completing several piano recitals, he began to play horn. VerMeulen attended the Interlochen Arts Academy before being accepted as a student of Dale Clevenger

Dale Clevenger

Dale Clevenger has been Principal Horn of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 1966. Before joining the CSO, he was a member of Leopold Stokowski's American Symphony Orchestra and the Symphony of the Air directed by Alfred Wallenstein. He was also principal horn of the Kansas City...

 at Northwestern University

Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

.

Professional life

After studying less than one year with Dale Clevenger, VerMeulen won his first professional orchestral audition as Second Horn of the Kansas City Philharmonic. Almost immediately after his arrival, the orchestra went on strike

Strike action

Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...

 and ceased to play concerts. During the strike VerMeulen performed with the Jack Daniels Original Silver Cornet Band and spent 4 months as an acting Principal Horn of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Shortly after returning to Kansas City he won the Principal Horn position of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, a title he held for 8 seasons. VerMeulen then won Principal Horn in the Columbus Symphony and shortly thereafter was hired by Christoph Eschenbach

Christoph Eschenbach

Christoph Eschenbach , born February 20, 1940, Breslau, Germany is a German-born pianist and conductor. He currently holds positions in Washington, D.C. as music director of the National Symphony Orchestra and music director of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.-Early...

 and the Houston Symphony as Principal Horn.

VerMeulen was the second American Hornist to record the complete Mozart Horn Concertos with a major American Orchestra. The album was recorded at with Christoph Eschenbach and the Houston Symphony in 1993. In addition, he was featured on Cantos, a CD of works by American composer Samuel Adler

Samuel Adler (composer)

Samuel Hans Adler is an American composer and conductor.-Biography:Adler was born to a Jewish family in Mannheim, Germany, the son of Hugo Chaim Adler, a cantor and composer, and Selma Adler. The family fled to the United States in 1939, where Hugo became the cantor of Temple Emanuel in...

. VerMeulen has concertized nationally and internationally as soloist with the Auckland Philharmonia, Wroclaw Philharmonic in Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, the Savannah Symphony, Toledo Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Chicago Civic Orchestra, Lake Forest Symphony, Anchorage Symphony, Jalapa Symphony, Huntsville Symphony, Krakow Chamber Orchestra, National Symphony of Mexico, Columbus Symphony, Honolulu Symphony and Houston Symphony.

VerMeulen has been invited to perform as Guest Principal Horn with the Los Angeles Philharmonic

Los Angeles Philharmonic

The Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...

, Cincinnati Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. In addition to his orchestral activities, VerMeulen has performed and taught at many music festivals, including the Aspen Music Festival, Tanglewood Music Festival

Tanglewood Music Festival

The Tanglewood Music Festival is a music festival held every summer on the Tanglewood estate in Lenox, Massachusetts in the Berkshire Hills in western Massachusetts....

, Grand Teton Music Festival

Grand Teton Music Festival

Located in Jackson Hole at the gateway to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, the Grand Teton Music Festival offers seven weeks of classical music concerts each summer. The Festival Orchestra is the centerpiece of Grand Teton Music Festival's programming...

, Pacific Music Festival, National Orchestral Institute, New World Symphony, National Repertory Orchestra, Colorado Music Festival

Colorado Music Festival

The Colorado Music Festival is a classical music festival in Boulder, Colorado. It was founded in 1976 by the Vienna-born conductor and violinist, Giora Bernstein and presents an annual summer season of concerts in Boulder's Chautauqua Auditorium performed by the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra...

, Interlochen Arts Academy, and the Sun Valley Summer Symphony.

In 1985, he received the "Distinguished Teacher of America Certificate of Excellence" from President Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

 and the White House commission on Presidential Scholars. He is a member of the Advisory Council of the International Horn Society and an adjudicator and board member of the International Horn Competition of America. In 2009-10 he was an artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. VerMeulen has students who have won positions in the Boston Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra

Cleveland Orchestra

The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1918, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Severance Hall...

, New York Philharmonic, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Kansas City Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Houston Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and San Francisco Symphony

San Francisco Symphony

The San Francisco Symphony is an orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980, the orchestra has performed at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus are part of the organization...

, as well as many other American and International Orchestras.

Personal life

William VerMeulen is married to violinist Sylvia VerMeulen. He has a son named Michael and a daughter named Nicole.

Sources

• http://www.parkerartists.com/NewPages/vermeulen.html
• http://www.interlochen.org/high-performing-alumni#symphony

External links

• http://vermeulenmusic.com/