The Alphorn Podcast

ALPHORN PLAYERS—ARE YOU TAKING CARE OF YOUR HORN?! Your alphorn deserves some TLC! This week on The Alphorn Podcast, Sean sits down with Brandi and Lindsey Jones from Silver and Brass in Carson City, Nevada, whose shop has manufactured over 200 alphorns! 🎶 They’re sharing how to care for your alphorn from the inside out, with tips to help keep your instrument in great shape! 🎥 Not sure how to oi...

🎙️ SPECIAL CROSSOVER EPISODE!  We are thrilled to share a fantastic episode featured on The Horn Call Podcast by the International Horn Society ! In this episode, Stasia Forsythe Siena and Dr. Katy Ambrose sit down for an inspiring discussion all about The Alphorn Project ! 🎶 Episode Highlights - Benefits of playing the alphorn for horn players - Cormont Horn Camp - Sean Slatter’s The Alphor...

Stasia Siena is one of the leading subject matter experts of the Alexander Technique (AT) for musicians and the architect of The Alphorn Project. A classically trained opera singer, Stasia has taught AT for more than twenty-five years in universities, conservatories, and master classes in the U.S. and abroad. She is on faculty at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts and has se...

🇨🇭 Melanie Oesch ist zu Gast im Alphorn Podcast. Ein Gespräch über Jodel, Alphorn, Familie und den Mut, ein Lebenswerk loszulassen, bevor Oesch’s die Dritten sich auf ihre letzte Tournee verabschieden. 🇺🇸 Melanie Oesch joins The Alphorn Podcast. We talk yodeling, the alphorn, three decades of family music, and what it takes to let a life’s work go as Oesch’s die Dritten head into their final tour....

Dr. Kageyama is a performance psychologist. He works with musicians around the world to apply sports psychology principles to music. Born in Marysville, Ohio, he began playing violin at age two. He later studied violin with Dr. Shinichi Suzuki, the founder of the Suzuki method. Dr. Kageyama holds a BA in psychology from Oberlin, a master’s in Violin Performance from Juilliard, and an MS and PhD in...

🎙️ NEW EPISODE: Featuring Nikolette (Nikki) LaBonte! 🎶 (Note for listeners: Due to a technical glitch, our recorded intro was cut, so this episode jumps straight into our conversation with Nikki!) In this episode, we sit down with Nikolette (Nikki) LaBonte —a professional French Horn artist, Alphorn artist, and harmonic series genius! 🏔️📯 Nikki holds the Principal Horn position of the Calgary Ph...

🎙️ NEW EPISODE SHOWCASE: Featuring Multi-Instrumentalist & Vocalist Stephen Saxon! 🎶 Stephen Saxon is a professional trumpet player, vocalist, cantor, composer, and alphorn artist. He is a member of Alphorns SF, and he has been a member of the San Francisco Klezmer Experience / KlezX, Chanticleer, The Klezmorim, and a variety of classical and contemporary a cappella groups. Stephen performed...

🎶 THIS WEEK ON THE ALPHORN PODCAST: JIM HOPSON! 🎶 Get ready for an incredible conversation with Jim Hopson —a professional alphorn, trombone, and tuba artist, world-renowned composer, and educator from Vancouver, British Columbia! 🇨🇦🎺 Jim is currently on faculty at the University of British Columbia , where he teaches a myriad of classes including Jazz, Brass, and Percussion. Throughout his car...

🎶🇨🇭 From the University of the Pacific to the Swiss Alps… this is an alphorn journey you won’t want to miss! 🇨🇭🎶 On this episode of The Alphorn Podcast , we’re excited to feature Ciera Alkhoury ! Ciera Alklhoury is a student at the University of the Pacific where she is studying horn performance and music history. She has spent the past year studying the alphorn as part of AANA's Alphorn Project...

🏔️🎶 The 2026 Midwest Alphorn Retreat! 🎶🏔️ Dr. Peggy DeMers and Bill Rose provide an overview of the 2026 Midwest Alphorn Retreat!   Peggy is a professional alphorn artist, composer and author of the translated version of A.L. Gassmann's "Little Alphorn Book." Bill is a professional alphorn artist, composer, professor of music at McNeese University and the inspiration for the Alphorn Project. For...

🎶 Dr. Natalie Grana! 🎶 Dr. Natalie Grana is a professional alphorn and French Horn artist, author, and educator. Dr. Grana is on faculty at DePaul University, Loyola University, Lake Forest College, Cormont Horn Camp, the Windy City Alphorn Retreat, the Alphorn Project, and the Alphorn Association of North America (AANA). Dr. Grana is a global authority on inner hearing and solfege training. She...

🎶 Meet Ann Ellsworth—an extraordinary musician whose passion for the French Horn, Alphorn, and Wagner Tuba has taken her to remarkable stages around the world! Ann is a professional French Horn, Alphorn, and Wagner Tuba artist. The Huffington Post called her premiere of a piece for Alphorn (performed in a boxing ring in Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn) “meticulously planned and executed…as fresh and ex...

Meet Kevin Rieke! 🏔️🎺 Kevin is an entrepreneur, a member of the Leavenworth Alphorns (AANA's 2025 Organization of the Year), and a student of Dr. Natalie Grana. A native of Leavenworth, WA, Kevin owns The Hat Shop and The Wood Shop in downtown Leavenworth. When he’s not working, he enjoys outdoor activities—especially Nordic skiing, mountain biking, and hiking. ⛷️🚴‍♂️🥾 In addition to playing th...

Bernhard Scully is one of the world's most accomplished horn artists. He is an international soloist and pedagogue, Professor of Horn at the University of Illinois, a former member of the Canadian Brass, Principal Horn of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Solo Horn of the North Country Chamber Players, and Principal Horn of ROCO. https://music.illinois.edu/people/profiles/bernhard-scully/   🏔️ANNA...

With Sean out of the country, the Alphorn Project team at Cormont Horn Camp—Sadie Glass, Stasia Siena, and Natalie Grana—sat down to recap Week Two of camp. They were joined by one adult camper and one high school camper, who shared thoughtful insights and firsthand alphorn experiences from the week. You won't want to miss this episode! We want to thank our sponsors ANNA and Alpensong

Alphorns at Cormont Horn Camp!  Sean sat down with Stasia Siena to recap the first week of alphorn activities at Cormont Horn Camp, currently underway at Cardigan Mountain School in Canaan, New Hampshire. From classes, coaching sessions and rehearsals to the unique experience of playing in New Hampshire's beautiful landscape, Week One has been packed with learning, camaraderie and plenty of alphor...

It’s been a while! 👋 But we are BACK with another Friday podcast episode! 🎙️✨ This week, Sean sits down with James Downs from the Sierra Alphorn Players to talk all things alphorn, music, and community. You won't want to miss this conversation! 🎧 Listen now https://www.alpensong.com/ https://www.alphornassociation.org/ #TheAlphornProject #Alphorn #SierraAlphornPlayers #PodcastFriday #NewEpisode...

Hazel is a professional French horn artist and a founding member of The Alphorn Project. She is a faculty member at the Boston University School of Music and the Longy School of Music. Hazel spends her summers as a faculty artist and teacher at the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina and Cormont Horn Camp in New Hampshire; she also maintains a private horn studio in Arlington, MA. Originally fr...

Dr. Molly Gebrian is a professional violist with a background in neuroscience. She is the author of Learn Faster, Perform Better: A Musician’s Guide to the Neuroscience of Practicing. Holding degrees in both music and neuroscience from Oberlin College and Conservatory, New England Conservatory of Music, and Rice University, her area of expertise is applying the science of learning and memory to pr...

This week, we are thrilled to sit down with one of today’s leading natural horn artists, Sadie Glass!  Assistant Professor of Horn and Brass-Percussion Program Director at the Conservatory of Music at the University of the Pacific, Sadie is also one of the four inaugural university faculty ambassadors for The Alphorn Project. Through her innovative work with historical instruments and modern pedag...

We are thrilled to celebrate the incredible contributions of Dr. Peggy DeMers to the alphorn community! 🏔️🎶 Dr. DeMers is a renowned professional alphorn artist, composer, author, and a celebrated Champion of the Festival International de Cor des Alpes (FICA) de Nendaz. As the founder of the Midwest Alphorn Retreat, she has been instrumental in growing our community and passion for this unique in...

We are thrilled to welcome back the incredible Laura Nelson ! 🎙️✨ In this week’s episode, we’re pulling back the curtain on Laura’s CREATIVE PROCESS . As one of the most prolific composers in the alphorn world, Laura shares what she does to get the creativity flowing and gives us a sneak peek into the exciting projects she’s currently working on. Whether you're a musician, an artist, or just a fa...

Michael Gelb is an award-winning author of 18 books. He is a practitioner of the Alexander Technique (AT), a subject matter expert on creativity, genius thinking,  and human potential. His bestselling books include: Body Learning: An Introduction to the Alexander Technique, How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci, and Discover Your Genius. Michael has performed with the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. H...

We’re heading to the West Coast for this week’s episode! 🎙️🏔️ Sean sits down with Dr. Jonathon Stillman , a man whose expertise spans from the lecture hall to the Swiss Alps. Dr. Stillman is a Professor at San Francisco State University and U.C. Berkeley , but when he isn't teaching, he is a leading figure in the North American alphorn community. A founding member of Alphorns San Francisco , Dr. S...

We’re heading to the heart of Leavenworth this week as Sean chats with Janet Mano and Kevin Rieke.   Janet is a professional alphorn artist and the President of the Leavenworth Alphorns, while Kevin—a career entrepreneur and second-generation Leavenworth native—serves as an officer for the group. We dive into the rich culture of their community and what it takes to lead such a vibrant musical orga...