Illinois State Graduate for Music, Primary Instrument was French Horn

Gina D.

I started playing French Horn when I was a freshman in high school. I originally played Trumpet in middle school. I was asked to play Mellophone in the high school marching band. When I realized that most of my friends in my instrument section were transitioning back to French Horn, I decided to transition to French Horn myself. Even though both instruments were brass instruments, I did expect a slight challenge with this transition due to the way the instruments were built and the amount of skill required to perform proficiently with each instrument. I practiced every day to perfect my craft, all thanks to my mother who pushed me to keep going when I wanted to give up. Thanks to that consistent practice, I was able to not only move up to the best ensemble at the high school, but become the principal Horn player in said ensemble. In addition, I was able to keep my principal position until I graduated. There was a time when I wasn't principal but it was so brief because I practiced and beat out my opponent when I challenged them to a retest.

I auditioned at Illinois State University and Western Michigan University, when I was trying to figure out where I would go to continue my education. I ended up liking the music environment at Illinois State so much that I knew I had to go there and learn from the best. During my time there, I continued to progress in my craft under the instruction of several esteemed professors. These included Dr. Joe Neisler, who studied under famous professional Horn player, Philip Farkas, during his time at Indiana University and Dr. Lauren Hunt of Yale University. I earned my BS in Music in 2018. After I graduated, I taught private lessons briefly. These lessons were at the house of a child in middle school who was just getting started as a musician. Unfortunately, due to the onset of COVID, the lessons were abruptly stopped.