French Horn with Charles B.

Hi there! My name is Charley, and I am currently a 3rd year undergraduate student at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music from. I started my musical journey at 8 when I started playing piano, and I picked up the trumpet at 12 in 6th grade and then horn at 13 in 7th grade. I participated in BOA competitive marching competitions for 3 years in high school and then I attended the prestigious Interlochen Arts Camp and graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy, where I really started to expand my orchestral repertoire and performance interest. I've been lucky enough to perform with the top orchestra at IU for several semesters where I've been able to perform diverse and beloved repertoire such as Strauss's Don Juan, Bruckner's 7th Symphony, and Wagner's Parsifal. I'm a passionate learner and I love studying learning processes and learning about high-achievement performers of all arts and sports fields and their mindsets. I've had the privilege to study with some of the best musicians and teachers of horn over the past 8 years and am passionate about imparting the knowledge and advice that has helped me along the way. Some of my teachers include Jeff Nelsen, Dale Clevenger, Thomas Jöstlein, Denise Tryon, and Bill VerMeulen. Studying with such mindful masters is what really engaged me as a student, and I hope to stoke the same engagement in others, and help them craft their own musical and personal journey. As all of my most influential teachers carefully tailor their teaching to me, I believe in helping every student in the most effective and efficient while attending to each student's needs and goals. A lot of the tenets of my playing are reflected in my horn teaching philosophy: ease of sound, making music over playing notes, coordinating my fundamentals work with music, and building a stronger learner than a stronger player--the stronger the learner, the faster the progress.