Frøydis Ree Wekre (born 31 July 1941) is a Norwegian

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

. Born in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, she studied in Oslo,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Originally a

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

and

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

player, Wekre did not take up the

horn Horn may refer to: Common uses * Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide ** Horn antenna ** Horn loudspeaker ** Vehicle horn ** Train horn *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals * Horn (instrument), a family ...

until age 17, having become fascinated with its sound. Her choice for the horn was also partly inspired by her having heard that it was a particularly difficult instrument to play. After only two years of studying horn with Wilhelm Lanzky-Otto and Vitaly Bujanovsky, she was invited to join the Norwegian Opera Orchestra. She obtained a post with the

Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra The Oslo Philharmonic () is a Norwegian symphony orchestra based in Oslo, Norway. The orchestra traces its roots to the Philharmonic Society founded in 1847 and the Christiania Musical Association co-founded by Edvard Grieg in 1871, and was esta ...

in 1961, where she became co-principal horn in 1965. Wekre stayed with the orchestra until her retirement in 1991. Wekre was hired at the

Norwegian Academy of Music The Norwegian Academy of Music (Norwegian: ''Norges musikkhøgskole'', NMH) is a university-level music conservatory located in Oslo, Norway, in the neighbourhood of Majorstuen, Frogner. It is the largest music academy in Norway and offers the ...

in 1973, reached the

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

rank in 1984 and was a professor of horn and wind

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

from 1991. Wekre has given masterclasses and workshops throughout

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. She is an active lecturer and participates in juries at international competitions. Her

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

''Thoughts on Playing the Horn Well'' has been translated into several languages. Frøydis Ree Wekre has been an honorary member of the

International Horn Society The International Horn Society (IHS) is an international organization dedicated to players of the horn founded in June 1970. Its goal is to promote horn playing, education and fellowship. The society aims to bring together horn players, educators, ...

since 1994, where she served as president for two years. She is a strong advocate for free buzzing and mouthpiece buzzing, even saying you should be doing it while waiting for the bus. Though this may seem eccentric, her justification is, "If people don't know you, it doesn't matter what they think of you, and if they do know you, well, then it's not a surprise". In 2020, her ''Collected Writings'' were published. In 2023 she was decorated as a Knight, First Class of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

. She resides at

Stabekk Stabekk is a suburban centre in the municipality of Bærum, Norway, west of Oslo. It is predominantly a residential area, with many residents commuting to Oslo. As of 2005 the population was 6,261. Bærum has the highest income per capita and the hi ...

Books

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wekre, Froydis Ree Living people 1941 births Norwegian classical horn players Women horn players Norwegian music educators Norwegian women music educators Musicians from Oslo Academic staff of the Norwegian Academy of Music Players of the Oslo Philharmonic