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For the love of horn: A conversation with Arts Academy Director of Brass Studies Dr. Lauren Hunt
Hunt shares why she’s so passionate about her instrument, how she stays motivated, and the one thing she hopes all her students learn from working with her.
For Dr. Lauren Hunt, Linda VanSickle Smith Horn Chair and Director of Brass Studies at Interlochen Arts Academy, horn isn’t just a job. It’s a way of life. From an early fascination with the instrument, to a career spent traveling the world and performing, Hunt has poured her heart and soul into becoming the best possible horn player she can be—and sharing that passion with others.
A burgeoning talent
Hunt comes from a deeply musical family. Her father is a musician with a doctorate from The Juilliard School, who taught clarinet lessons as well as band. Her mother wasn’t musical but showed her staunch support by taking her children to lessons and helping them learn to practice.
“We basically had to do music. It was part of being in the family,” Hunt remembers. “I started playing cello when I was four years old.”
Hunt’s musical talent was evident from the beginning to everyone around her.
“In fifth grade, I signed up for horn. My band teacher was a trumpet player, so he knew a little bit about horn, but not a ton. Soon he told my parents that I’d outpaced him and needed private lessons.”
Hunt pursued horn alongside cello until college, where she opted to go for a cello major.
“Cello seemed like the easier option,” she says. “But when I got there, I realized that it didn’t feel right—it wasn’t my path. I switched to the horn, and I've never looked back since.”
Dr. Hunt (right) poses with a human friend and a llama in Peru.
Open doors to the world
For Hunt, the horn has been a ticket to travel and an exciting opportunity to broaden her perspectives. She didn’t get many opportunities to travel internationally in her childhood, so when she was presented with the opportunity to apply for Youth Orchestra of the Americas, she jumped at the chance. Hunt was accepted into the program and soon began traveling the east coast of the U.S., as well as Quebec and Montreal, alongside young musicians from all over the Americas.
“It was my first time being a minority as a native English speaker,” she says. “I didn’t know any Spanish going in, so it was really eye-opening, allowing me to imagine the experiences of people who don't speak English and visit or emigrate to the United States.”
Determined to communicate with her musical peers from Central and South America, Hunt spent the next year plunging into Spanish studies. Her hard work was rewarded when she rejoined the Youth Orchestra the following summer and was able to have conversations with her fellow musicians as they traveled through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil.
Hunt’s desire to travel was further sparked, and she ended up working for a community education program in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil for several years. Since then, she has built up a thriving career giving master classes and recitals in Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and throughout the United States.
“Because of my travels, I feel very comfortable working with international students at Arts Academy,” she shares. “I also encourage all of my students to go abroad if they can. It opens your perspective in ways that only travel can do.”
Dr. Lauren Hunt (second from left) plays with a group of students in Ecuador.
Passing on a passion for the horn
When asked why she loves her instrument, Hunt muses on the horn’s unique role in the orchestra.
“The horn has a really special sound. Composers use it in powerful moments, but it also possesses a quiet beauty,” she says. “And the horn can be paired with any kind of group in the orchestra. It might be playing a solo one moment, then playing with the woodwinds, then playing with the brass.”
Hunt stays motivated for her intense teaching and performing schedule by focusing on her deep love for the music she plays, as well as the excitement of performance.
“I'm a very goal-oriented person,” she says. “I stay motivated by seeking out the positive feeling you get when you feel like a performance went well.”
That joy is magnified when she gets to experience it in community.
“One of the reasons why I really love chamber music is the companionship it offers,” she continues. “It's a team project instead of an individual project. I love the feeling you get when a chamber performance goes really well. You've got this shared energy and joy with the other people, especially when they're like-minded individuals and musicians.”
At some point, everyone's going to stop taking lessons, and at that point we need to have a toolkit for ourselves for how to keep getting better. I want all my students, no matter how long they’re with me, to have the tools to continue making progress on their own.
In Hunt’s work with her Arts Academy students, she makes a point of encouraging them to channel their love for the instrument into sustainable practice routines.
“I always tell my students that the most important thing is to have strategies to get better by yourself,” she says. ”Some of my students might continue their studies through a doctorate. Other students might decide, ‘You know what, I'm going to go become a doctor.’ At some point, everyone's going to stop taking lessons, and at that point we need to have a toolkit for ourselves for how to keep getting better. I want all my students, no matter how long they’re with me, to have the tools to continue making progress on their own.”
As a globe-trotting performer and passionate educator, Hunt makes it her mission to lead by example.
Interlochen Arts Academy Music students receive mentorship from leading professional musicians, preparing them for success in their chosen fields. Learn more about studying music at Interlochen Arts Academy.
