Philip F. Myers (born June 24, 1949) is an American

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...

virtuoso and pedagogue. In 2017, he retired from his post as principal horn of the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

and remains active as a soloist worldwide.

Early life and education

Myers was born in

Elkhart, Indiana Elkhart ( ) is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The city is located east of South Bend, Indiana, east of Chicago, Illinois, and north of Indianapolis, Indiana. Elkhart has the larger population of the two principal cities of th ...

. He attended

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

from 1967 to 1971, where he studied French horn with the renowned Forrest Standley. During the summers of 1970 and 1971, Myers attended the Blossom Festival, where he studied music with the principal horn of the

Cleveland Symphony Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra, based in Cleveland, is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Se ...

, Myron Bloom.

Career

From 1980 to 2017, Myers was the principal horn of the

and frequently appeared as soloist with the orchestra. Before arriving at the New York Philharmonic, he was principal horn of the

Atlantic Symphony Orchestra The Atlantic Symphony Orchestra (ASO) was a professional Canadian symphony orchestra in Atlantic Canada that was active during the second half the 20th century. It was unusual in that it was the only full-time regional professional orchestra in Can ...

in Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, from 1971 to 1974, third horn of the

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra The ''Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra'' (''PSO'') is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra's home is Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District, Pittsburgh, Cultural District. History The Pittsburgh Sy ...

from 1974 to 1977, and principal horn of the

Minnesota Orchestra The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall. History Em ...

from 1978 to 1980. Myers is on the faculty at the Haute École de Musique, part of the

Lausanne Conservatory The Haute école de musique de Lausanne (HEMU, known as Institute of Advanced Musical Studies prior to 2010, founded in 1861 as Conservatoire de Lausanne) is a Swiss music school located in Romandy, the French-speaking western part of Switzerland ...

in Fribourg, Switzerland. Myers released his first solo CD under Cala Records in 1998, which features music by

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

and

David Amram David Werner Amram III (born November 17, 1930) is an American composer, arranger, and conductor of orchestral, chamber, and choral works, many with jazz flavorings.

, among others. Myers can also be heard on ''Take 9'', featuring the horns of the

and the American Horn Quartet., as well as a New York Philharmonic digital release, featuring a 2011 recording of

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

's Horn Concerto No. 1. In August 2014, Myers was elected an honorary member of the International Horn Society at the 46th International Horn Symposium in London.

References

1949 births American classical horn players Living people People from Elkhart, Indiana {{US-brass-musician-stub