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 began playing the horn at the age of 16, studying with Caesar LaMonaca in Houston. Other teachers have included Barry Tuckwell and Roland Berger of the Vienna Philharmonic. He studied at the University of Houston and at age 19 joined the Calgary Philharmonic as principal horn. After two seasons in Calgary, he joined the Vancouver Symphony as solo horn, where he played for the next nine years.
In 1983 Hackleman left Vancouver to join the world-renowned Canadian Brass. His three years with the group saw many outstanding achievements, including recordings for CBS Masterworks, extensive tours of the US, Canada, Europe, and the Far East, a Canadian JUNO award for "best classical record,” the group's Hollywood Bowl premiere, and the release of their first video. Hackleman then joined the Empire Brass Quintet, whose moderate concert schedule allowed him time to pursue a solo career as well as specialty interests such as the Vienna horn and natural horn. He was a member of the EBQ for four years.
He returned to Vancouver in November of 1989, where he played principal horn in the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra once again and served as Adjunct Professor of Horn at the University of British Columbia. In 1990, Hackleman helped launch a nationally broadcast chamber music series on CBC Radio called "CURIO," featuring chamber music of forgotten composers.
For the 1999-2000 season, he was invited to play principal horn in the Montreal Symphony under Charles Dutoit. In 2000 he was appointed principal horn of the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, where he remained until 2012 when joined the faculty at the University of Missouri Kansas City. He performed as guest principal with the Philadelphia Orchestra on two occasions while living in Washington DC, and also played principal horn in the Chautauqua Orchestra at The Chautauqua Institute and at the Waterloo Festival in Princeton, New York.
Hackleman has made numerous recordings with the National Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Montreal Symphony, Canadian Brass, Tidewater Brass, Washington Symphonic Brass, and the Empire Brass. In 1999 he recorded two solo albums: one entirely of his own arrangements for solo horn with piano and string accompaniment, and one of five lost Romantic concertos with the CBC Vancouver Orchestra. In addition, a recording of chamber music for two horns and bassoon was released in the spring of 1996. In November of 1998 a Christmas recording with horn quartet was released. A disc of the Brahms Horn Trio with other chamber music was released in July of 2000.
Hackleman has made numerous contributions to horn pedagogy, including etudes and other materials published by Editions Bim and Legacy Horn Experience. He has served on the faculty at the University of Maryland, Boston University, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Missouri Kansas City Conservatory of Music. For four years he coached the Asian Youth Orchestra and participated in their annual world tours. As a member of Summit Brass, he has performed, recorded, and taught during the summers at the Rafael Méndez Brass Institute. For many years he was a design consultant with Yamaha. Over the years he has been invited to give master classes at Juilliard, the Manhattan School, Curtis Institute, and the University of California, Los Angeles.
Martin Hackleman was elected an IHS Honorary Member in 2024.