Special Events

Last year Ann Ellsworth performed a full recital in the North Country on her soprano horn, a unique instrument, which was met with great interest. Bemoaning the lack of another such instrument in interviews with Vermont Public Radio and Mountain Lakes PBS, She explained that with rare exception, the repertoire for these rare instruments is written for two horn concerti by composers from the early Baroque Period. Longtime friend and collaborator Rachel Drehmann suggested having German horn maker Martin Ecker of the dieter Otto Horns Company, make her a companion horn to match. As a result, Ann and Rachel are thrilled to present their first double recital at the Essex Community Church.

They have invited the New York City based string quartet OSSO to join them in this exciting evening of virtuosic chamber music. OSSO, a young innovative chamber ensemble, has made its name transcending the classical repertoire and embracing contemporary and popular music. OSSO has made several recordings, including an adaptation of Sufjan Steven's electronica album "Enjoy Your Rabbit" for string quartet, to rave reviews.

It is another perfect match for Ellsworth and Drehmann, who both enjoy performing a wide spectrum of musical styles. Rachel is a founding member of the first post "post-feminist" feminist horn quartet, Genghis Barbie, who will be performing in Plattsburgh in March as featured guests at the Northeast Horn Workshop hosted by Ellsworth and the SUNY Plattsburgh Music Department. She and Ann met while working on a program for horn Quartet, violin and rap artist.

The program will open with a double concerti by Johann Fasch and Johann David Heinichin, thoughtfully transcribed for sextet by young composer Dakota Wayne specifically for this recital. The second half of the program features Beethoven's beautiful sextet for two horns and strings in E flat Major. This is an early work that captures the incredible range of the horns from the haunting, transcendent lines of the second movement to the spirited hunting calls of the third. Rachel and Ann will be performing the Beethoven Sextet on standard double horns. Other exciting works will round out the afternoon's program.

Ann Ellsworth is the solo horn with Kristjan Jarve's Absolute Ensemble, Manhattan Brass, the Graham Ashton Brass Ensemble, and the alternative horn group Confluence. The New York Times has called her solo playing, "outrageous...splendidly projected" and as a freelancer, Ann records regularly for film and television. Ann performs with such artists as Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Shakira Tony Bennett, and Chaka Kahn as well as classical orchestras and chamber ensembles around the world. As a recent artist in residence at the Lang College of the New School, Ann performed several inter-disciplinary concerts with dancers, video artists, architects and singer/songwriters. An advocate of contemporary music, Ann also enjoys playing on period instruments and is currently working on a recording of all new works for alphorn. She is a former member of the Phoenix Symphony, the Esbjerg Ensemble in Denmark and recently recorded the Eric Ewazen Horn Concerto with the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra. Ms. Ellsworth attended the Eastman and Juilliard Schools, with further study in Oslo, Norway and St. Petersburg, Russia. She has held faculty positions at numerous schools in the New York City area and joined the Stony Brook faculty in September 2009.

Rachel Drehmann, originally from Northeast Wisconsin, began her horn studies at the University of Minnesota, where she studied with Wayne Lu and Dr. Charles Kavalovski, earning a BM in horn performance in 2004. In the summers of 2003 and 2004 she attended the Aspen Music Festival. In 2008 Drehmann graduated with a MM in classical horn from the Manhattan School of Music and has since been an active freelance horn player in New York City. Experiences include a board range of styles including substitute horn for The Lion King on Broadway, Clay Aiken 2006 Christmas tour and playing with groups such as the Chelsea Symphony Orchestra and the Panache Brass Quintet. She made her solo debut with the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra Performing Richard Strauss's Horn Concerto No. 1 in April 2007. She is also a member of the indie rock band "A whisper in the Noise" with whom she has recorded two albums. The group has toured the US, Iceland and the UK.