More than 100 Suffolk County students will perform at the 20th Annual Day of (French) Horn Festival. Student musicians from Suffolk County schools will join together to celebrate the unique instrument - the French Horn.
The Suffolk County Music Educators Association (SCMEA) anticipates that 100 students in grades four through twelve – along with college students, educators, and horn enthusiasts – will perform at the 20th annual Day of Horn on Friday, January 17, 2025, at Northport High School.
This year’s featured artist is East Islip native Michael Stevens, principal hornist with the Rochester Philharmonic since 2023. He has performed as guest principal horn with the San Francisco Symphony, the Auckland Philharmonia, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
An afternoon of rehearsals and clinics for the students will be followed by a FREE concert at 7:30 p.m. that is open to the public. It will feature Mr. Stevens, SCMEA’s All-County Horn Ensemble, and a massed horn ensemble that will feature a winning student composer conducting all performers.
“We are proud to offer our annual Day of Horn to the students of Suffolk County,” said Angelina Wasson, SCMEA president and music educator in the South Country School District. “Since 2004, SCMEA has seen thousands of students perform with notable musicians that put the spotlight on the uniqueness of the instrument. Special events like this is are testament to the strong music programs found in our Suffolk County schools.”
Commonly known as the “French Horn”, the name is not used as often as it once was. In 1971, the International Horn Society recommended calling the instrument simply “the horn”. The reason for the inaccuracy of the instrument’s name is unknown, but theorists believe it may have its 19th century origin from being used while hunting in either Great Britain or Germany before being brought to France.
The Suffolk County Music Educators Association (SCMEA) is a group of professional music educators and advocates of music education throughout Suffolk County, New York. SCMEA is a county affiliate of the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA), a state unit of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME).
"The Suffolk County Music Educators Association (SCMEA) always does a great job showcasing the talents of our students and highlights the importance that Long Island Schools still has for education in the arts. There are so many high-quality music educational programs on Long Island, and this event helps highlight some of them," said Bob Vecchio, Executive Director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association.