Acclaimed horn players Abel Pereira, Robert Rearden, and Wei-Ping Chou will join the faculty of the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University for the 2018-19 academic year.
Principal horn of the National Symphony Orchestra, Abel Pereira has won awards at competitions including the Leeuwarden International Horn Competition in Holland, the National Wind Competition in his native Portugal, and England’s European Master-Prize. A founding member of the ARZTIZ Woodwind Quintet and Porto Brass Quintet, he has appeared on prestigious concert stages including Royal Albert Hall, London Festival Hall, the Barbican, Carnegie Hall, Teatro alla Scala, the Concertgebouw, and the Musikverein. His solo discography includes the complete Mozart Horn Concerti, and he has played more than 60 solo concerts with world-class orchestras. Pereira holds his PhD in coaching/performance from Porto University, where he also studied choral and orchestral conducting. He has served as professor at both Lisbon and Porto Universities, and is currently music director of both the Eclipse Chamber Orchestra and the Summer Music Institute Orchestra of the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center.
Robert Rearden joined the National Symphony Orchestra as second horn in 2016. He previously served as principal horn of the Florida Orchestra, where he appeared as a soloist on several occasions, and has performed regularly as a guest musician with the Cleveland Orchestra, including multiple recordings and tours. He was a member of the New World Symphony from 2006 to 2010. He also appeared frequently as guest principal horn of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra from 2010 to 2015. Rearden completed his undergraduate degree at the University of South Carolina and earned a Master of Music degree and artist diploma at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He was a featured artist at the 2017 Southeast Horn Workshop, and has also taught master classes in Havana, Cuba, at the universities of Houston and South Florida, and at the Kent-Blossom Music Festival.
Praised by the New York Times for her “consistent, strong” and “smooth and full” horn playing, Wei-ping Chou was the first and only horn player in Juilliard School history to be awarded the Artist Diploma. She received her bachelor’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music and her Master of Music degree from Juilliard. A native of Taiwan, she has served as acting assistant principal horn for the San Diego Symphony and performs regularly with orchestras and chamber groups including the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, American Symphony Orchestra, The Knights, Wind Soloists of New York, The Metropolis Ensemble, The Decoda Ensemble, and Genghis Barbie. As a chamber musician, she spent many of her summers at the Marlboro Music Festival and performs on the Musicians from Marlboro tours. Chou currently holds the second horn position with the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra/Washington National Opera Orchestra.
Pereira, Rearden, and Chou join a roster of renowned performers and esteemed teachers in the Woodwinds, Brass, Percussion and Harp department at the Peabody Conservatory, chaired by clarinetist Alexander Fiterstein. Conservatory faculty are leading the implementation of the groundbreaking Breakthrough Curriculum, designed to help students develop skills in performance, career development, and citizen artistry to meet the demands of today’s ever-changing musical landscape.
One Response
Go, Bob!!!!!!!