Rebecca Salo

I am a professional French horn performer and teacher based in southern Indiana, and I enjoy working with students of all ages to foster a love of music and horn playing. Currently, I hold positions as Principal Horn in the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra and Principal Horn in the Paducah Symphony Orchestra, and I freelance with several other orchestras in the area. I am an active soloist and chamber musician, and I particuarly enjoy introducing new audiences to classical music. Additionally, I am the Founder and Artistic Director of the Evansville Homeschool Band, a beginning and intermediate concert band program for homeschooled students in the Evansville area. I hold degrees from Indiana University (Master of Music in Horn Performance) and Purdue University (Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering), and I have pursued doctoral studies at the Eastman School of Music.

I have been teaching horn privately for over 10 years, and I am passionate about helping students achieve their playing goals. My students frequently recieve high scores in solo contests, participate in honor bands and summer music camps, successfully audition into All-State ensembles, and are awarded scholarships to pursue music degrees at well-known colleges. During the summers, I teach on faculty at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan, where I coach middle school and high school campers and their college-age counselors. Previously, I have held the positions of Consortium Instructor of Horn at the University of Evansville, Principal Horn in the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, and Natural Horn (historical performance) Teaching Assistant at the Eastman School of Music.

In private lessons, I focus on developing and strengthening the fundamentals of horn playing, including tone production, flexibility, range, articulation, phrasing, and basic music theory. As students master these skills, I help students refine their playing and develop their musicianship through standard etudes and solo works. Students will be given a lesson assignment each week, which will include warm-up and fundamental exercises tailored to individual needs, scales, etudes, a solo piece, and other music the student is learning for band, orchestra, auditions, etc. Students are expected to practice outside of lessons (ideally daily), and they are encouraged to perform as often as they can.