Horn Faculty
Wei-Ping Chou
WEI-PING CHOU is currently Second Horn of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra/Washington National Opera Orchestra and teaches at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. A native of Taiwan, she holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School, where she was the first and only horn player to be awarded the Artist Diploma. Chou served as acting assistant principal horn for the San Diego Symphony (2007—2011) and has performed regularly with leading groups such as Orchestra of St. Luke’s, American Symphony Orchestra, The Metropolis Ensemble, Genghis Barbie, The Knights, Wind Soloists Of New York, and The Decoda Ensemble.
Allene Hackleman
ALLENE HACKLEMAN has been principal horn of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra since 2004. A native of Vancouver, B.C., Allene studied horn with Martin Hackleman and completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Cincinnati. Ms. Hackleman has played with the Montréal and National (Washington, D.C.) Symphonies, as well as the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, Winnipeg Symphony and the Colorado Music Festival. She has performed concerti with the Edmonton Symphony, Alberta Baroque Ensemble, Red Deer Symphony and the Victoria Symphony. Allene is a member of the Canadian National Brass Project and the Summit Brass, and is on the most recent CD recordings with both groups. Allene enjoys chamber music and has been a guest artist at the Festival of the Sound, Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, Toronto Summer Music, Lanaudière Festival, the Edmonton Recital Society, and the Pender Harbour Chamber Music Festival. Allene has been a featured artist at the International Women's Brass conference in 2010, the Southeast Horn Workshop in 2023 as well as the International Horn Symposium in 2023. Allene has taught at the Musikacademy in Belgrade, Serbia as well as the Domaine Forget Academy in Quebec, and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. Allene teaches at the Rafael Méndez Brass Institute in Denver, Colorado, and at University of Alberta.
Susan McCullough
SUSAN McCULLOUGH earned her bachelor’s degree in Horn Performance from Emporia State University. She was featured as Principal Horn and soloist with the Air Force Academy Band from 75-78, and served 22 years with the Colorado Springs Symphony Orchestra as 3rd and Principal Horn. Susan is a founding member of The Denver Brass and has been a featured soloist and clinician throughout the US as well as across the world. Susan has been featured at International Horn Symposiums since 2006 and at South African National Symposiums 2007 to the present. She has served on the Advisory Council of the International Horn Society since 2008. Susan can be heard on many CD recordings including her 2008 release, “It’s All Relative” with her son, Jesse McCormick. She performs with many of Colorado’s top ensembles including the Colorado Symphony, the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, and the Colorado Ballet. She has been on faculty at the Kendall Betts Horn Camp from 2021 to the present. Previously, Susan was Instructor of Horn at the Lamont School of Music for 22 years, where she proudly hosted the 40th International Horn Symposium in 2008.
Kristina Mascher-Turner
KRISTINA MASCHER-TURNER is an internationally acclaimed hornist and former principal horn of the Brussels Philharmonic. She performs regularly with leading orchestras throughout the Benelux region and maintains an active international career. Since 2009, she has been a member of the American Horn Quartet, touring six continents and appearing at major international festivals. A devoted chamber musician, she is a core member of Luxembrass and co-founder of the Virtuoso Horn Duo, with recordings on Naxos and MSR Classics. Former Vice President of the International Horn Society, she received its Punto Award for outstanding service to the global horn community. Kristina serves on the artist faculty of the Rafael Méndez Brass Institute and Summit Brass, and joined the faculty of KASK Conservatorium in Ghent, Belgium in 2025. She holds degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin.
Geoffrey Pilkington
GEOFFREY PILKINGTON was appointed principal horn of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra in 2014, after ten years of holding the fourth horn position in the same orchestra. Pilkington completed his degree at The Juilliard School studying with Julie Landsman, and spent a year abroad at the Royal Academy of Music in London studying with Michael Thompson and Richard Watkins. In 2011, he joined the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra as associate principal/third horn and was featured as a soloist, performing Schumann’s Konzertstuck for four horns and orchestra. An accomplished recitalist, Pilkington has been awarded grand prizes at the International Horn Competition of America, The Florida Orchestra Concerto Competition and the Royal Academy of Music in London. Additionally, he has performed with the National Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and as guest principal horn with the Philadelphia Orchestra. He was featured as a soloist in the 2016 Wagner Ring Cycles at the Kennedy Center, and has joined the San Francisco Opera for six complete Ring Cycles in 2011, and 2018. Pilkington met his wife, Kathryn, while they were studying at Juilliard. She is a founding member and co-artistic director of Washington, D.C.’s modern dance troupe, Company E, as well as a modern dance instructor at George Mason University. They live in Northern Virginia with their sons Gavin and Colin.
Martin Hackleman
MARTIN HACKLEMAN joined the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance as Artist in Residence and Associate Teaching Professor of Horn in Fall 2012. He began playing horn at 16, studying under Caesar LaMonaca, Barry Tuckwell, and Roland Berger (Vienna Philharmonic). At 19, he won the Principal Horn Chair with the Calgary Philharmonic and later joined the Vancouver Symphony as Solo Horn under Maestro Kazuyoshi Akiyama in 1974, playing there for nine years. In 1983, Hackleman became a member of the Canadian Brass, recording seven albums with CBS Masterworks and touring globally. He later joined the Empire Brass Quintet, balancing a solo career and working with Vienna and Natural Horns. With EBQ, he recorded five CDs. An advocate for music education, Hackleman published two horn étude books with BIM in Switzerland, which are required at prestigious institutions like the Royal Conservatory in London and the University of Michigan. He now collaborates with Steve Lewis’s Legacy Horn Experience and has been a juror for Canada Council competitions. He’s also taught at the University of Maryland, Boston University, and University of British Columbia, and worked extensively with youth orchestras and brass programs, including the Banff Centre and Summit Brass. Returning to Vancouver in 1989, Hackleman became Principal Horn of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and adjunct professor at UBC. In 1990, he co-launched “CURIO,” a CBC Radio chamber music series. In the 1999-2000 season, he played Principal Horn with the Montréal Symphony under Charles Dutoit, and in 2000, he joined the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center, remaining for 12 years. He also played with the Washington Symphonic Brass, recorded four CDs, and performed as guest Principal Horn with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Hackleman has recorded extensively with ensembles such as the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Montreal Symphony,National Symphony, Canadian Brass, Empire Brass, Summit Brass, All Star Brass, and Washington Symphonic Brass. His solo recordings include After a Dream, which are his own arrangements of music that had never been played on horn, and Romanza, a set of five lost Romantic concertos, and he has collaborated with his wife Kelly on the album Solitary Hotel. Now retired from UMKC, Hackleman resides in Kansas City with his wife Kelly and their two Mini Golden Doodles, Kenna and Duncan.