Todd Williams – Horn. Valved Horn ~ Natural Horn

Hailed by Gramophone for his “impressive horn playing,” Todd Williams is an active performer and educator based in Philadelphia. A leading exponent of the Natural Horn in America, he serves as Principal Horn of numerous ensembles across the country including the Handel & Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Trinity Baroque, Clarion Society, Apollo’s Fire, Mercury, Opera Lafayette, and (Philadelphia’s own) Tempesta di Mare, to name a few. Recently he’s served as guest principal for Tafelmusik (Toronto) as well as the American Bach Soloists and beginning next season he will serve as Principal Horn of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (San Francisco).

On the topic of the Natural Horn, he has conducted lectures and private lessons at the music schools of Curtis, Temple, Eastman, and Oberlin, among others, and in 2018, joined the faculty of the Juilliard School. In 2019, he was invited to adjudicate the first-ever Natural Horn Competition in conjunction with the 51st International Horn Society’s Horn Symposium, held in Ghent, Belgium.

On the modern Valved Horn, he is a staple of the Philadelphia music scene performing with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Opera Philadelphia, Orchestra 2001, Philadelphia Ballet, and the Philly Pops. From 2003-2014, he served as solo horn of the opera festival Lyrique-en- Mer, France. He’s recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, RCA/ Sony Records, Atlantic Records, CORO, Naxos, Musica Omnia, Chaconne/Chandos, and Warner Brothers.

Influential conductors under which he’s performed includes Harry Christophers, Richard Egarr, Nicholas McGegan, and Masaaki Suzuki for period horn, and Sir Simon Rattle, Yannick Nézét Séguin, Esa Pekka Salonen, Gianandrea Noseda, Christof Eschenbach, Stéphane Denève, Gerard Schwartz, Kurt Masur, and others, for modern horn.

Todd is a graduate of Indiana University where he studied with Richard Seraphinoff, Michael Hatfield, and Myron Bloom. Other major musical influences include Philip Farkas, Julie Landsman, Stanley Ritchie, and David Effron, to name a few.