IU Jacobs School of Music appoints Chicago Symphony Principal Horn Dale Clevenger to faculty
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music is pleased to announce that Dale Clevenger, principal horn of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for the past 47 years, will join its Brass Department faculty full time as professor of practice in the fall of 2013, pending approval by the Trustees of Indiana University.
At the school, Clevenger will join a department that includes Myron Bloom (former principal horn of the Cleveland Orchestra,) Jeff Nelsen (former member of the Canadian Brass) and early music horn specialist Richard Seraphinoff.
"After one of the most remarkable tenures of any symphonic musician of our time, Indiana University is thrilled to welcome Dale Clevenger to its faculty," said Gwyn Richards, dean of the Jacobs School. "Dale's appointment to the school is a reminder of the many faculty who have traversed this path, most especially Philip Farkas, principal horn of the Chicago Symphony until 1960, and Myron Bloom, principal horn of the Cleveland Orchestra, who continues to teach on our faculty."
"The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music is and has always been synonymous with excellence in every area of music," said Clevenger. "To be invited to teach and be a part of this amazing school is an honor of major proportions. I will do everything in my power to maintain the traditions and high goals already in place and, hopefully, add something very positive. Following a long list of luminaries who have taught before me is truly like a dream."
"With his superior performance career and his outstanding record of pedagogical success, Dale Clevenger brings to the Jacobs School Brass Department a presence worthy of recognition and enthusiasm," said M. Dee Stewart, chair of the department. "We welcome him with great anticipation."
"Dale Clevenger brings an astonishing pedigree to us," said Nelsen. "In addition to his unparalleled 47-year career as principal horn in the CSO, he lives life with a beautiful openness and energy, and his relentless obsession with excellence is clear and contagious. The Jacobs School horn area has always been a one-of-a-kind collection of musical expertise and experience. By adding another legendary musician to our ranks, there is no better place in the world to learn about horn and music."
"I welcome my colleague Dale Clevenger," Bloom added.
Principal horn of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since February 1966, Clevenger is a versatile musician in many areas, including chamber music, jazz, commercial recordings and solos. His mentors were Arnold Jacobs and Adolph Herseth.
Before joining the Chicago Symphony, Clevenger was a member of Leopold Stokowski's American Symphony Orchestra and the Symphony of the Air directed by Alfred Wallenstein; he also was principal horn of the Kansas City Philharmonic. He has appeared as soloist with orchestras worldwide, including the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Daniel Barenboim. He has participated in many music festivals, including the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival; the Florida Music Festival in Sarasota; the Marrowstone Music Festival in Bellingham, Wash.; and the Affinis Music Festival in Japan. He also participates in the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival. In addition, he has worked with the European Community Youth Orchestra under Claudio Abbado and participated in several International Horn Society workshops. Recently, he was in Karlskrona, Sweden, at the Blekinge International Brass Academy Brass Week.
He has given recitals and master classes throughout the world, including in Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Finland, Norway, Japan, China, Australia, Mexico, Canada and Israel.
Clevenger is the featured soloist on several Chicago Symphony recordings, including works by Martin, Schumann, Britten and Mozart. He also played on the Grammy Award-winning recording "The Antiphonal Music of Gabrieli" with the brass ensembles of the Chicago, Philadelphia and Cleveland orchestras. He has recorded the horn concertos by Joseph and Michael Haydn with the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra of Budapest, as well as all of Mozart's horn concertos. The Mozart recording was named Record of the Year in Hungary, and both recordings were nominated for Grammy Awards.
Clevenger also performed with Barenboim and colleagues from the Chicago Symphony and the Berlin Philharmonic in Chicago and Berlin on the Grammy-winning CD of quintets for piano and winds by Mozart and Beethoven. With Barenboim and Itzhak Perlman, he recorded Brahms' Horn Trio for HD TV, laser disc and Sony Classical CD. He performed on the "Tribute to Ellington CD" with Barenboim and other members of the Chicago Symphony, and he has recorded Strauss's First Horn Concerto with Barenboim and the Chicago Symphony. John Williams wrote a horn concerto for him, which he premiered in 2004.
For 17 years, Clevenger played almost regularly with the group EARS, Jazz of All Eras. In 1985, he received an honorary doctorate from Elmhurst College. He currently is professor of horn at Roosevelt University.
As a conductor, Clevenger served as music director of the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra for 14 years. His conducting career has included guest appearances with numerous other orchestras, including the New Japan Philharmonic, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the Roosevelt University Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Conservatory Orchestra, the Northwestern University Summer Symphony, the Western Australia Symphony Orchestra, the Osaka Philharmonic, the National Philharmonic of Slovakia in Bratislava, the Sinfonia Crakovia and the Opole Philharmonic in Poland, and the Bartlesville (Oklahoma) Symphony Orchestra. Recently, he conducted the Valledolid (Spain) Symphony Orchestra with Daniel Barenboim as soloist.
