Gail Williams

Gail Williams

Retired Associate Principal Horn of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Professor Emeritus at Northwestern University

Appearances:

Guest Co-Host: Nicole Cash

TBJ223: Gail Williams

Gail Williams joined Andrew Hitz and guest co-host Nicole Cash, former Associate Principal Horn of the San Francisco Symphony and a former student of Gail's, for a conversation that starts on a dairy farm in upstate New York and ends in a small plane circling Denali. She arrived at Ithaca College at 17 having never had a horn lesson and applied as a phys ed major in an effort to get away from “the family business” of music. She went on to a decorated career with the Chicago Symphony and 36 years of teaching at Northwestern.

Clips from this Episode:

Why Gail thinks seventh graders playing excerpts is just wrong

The Phil Farkas advice that pulled her out of the CSO

What to tell a student who says they can't sing

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About:

  • Joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1978 and served as Associate Principal Horn from 1984 until leaving the orchestra in 1998

  • Principal Horn of the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra, and Principal Horn of the World Orchestra for Peace under Gergiev and Runnicles, with concerts across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East

  • On the horn faculty at Northwestern's Bienen School from 1989 to 2025, named Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence in 2005

  • Founding member of the Chicago Chamber Musicians, whose all-Mozart recording drew a Grammy nomination in 2006

  • Original member of Summit Brass, with eight recordings, plus solo albums including 20th Century Settings, Deep Remembering, and Goddess Trilogy

  • Premiered concertos by Dana Wilson and James Stephenson, gave the American premiere of the Colin Matthews concerto, and performed the Knussen concerto with the CSO under the composer

  • Has given master classes and recitals at Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory, Eastman, Rice, and the New World Symphony, and has been a recitalist and lecturer at International Horn Society workshops since 1980

  • Studied with John Covert at Ithaca College, which awarded her an honorary doctorate and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023

Find horn resources, masterclasses, and performances on The Brass Junkies Horn Page.