Horn Ensembles in Australia: A History, Catalogue of National Repertoire, and Recommendations Towards Sustainable Communities

Abstract

Horn ensembles are a popular and enduring format of music-making for horn players around the world, but their contribution to music appreciation and education in Australian communities remains largely unexplored. This study documents the practice in Australia by profiling local organisations that have operated throughout the last sixty years and cataloguing original repertoire by national composers. Interviews with representatives of Australian horn ensembles and communities reveal the social, educational, and artistic value of these ensembles for horn players across the student, amateur, and professional spectrum. They also expose various organisational challenges faced by community horn organisations, often exacerbated by a lack of access to specialised information and resources. These perspectives, amalgamated with insight into successful international precedents and existing research into healthy community music practices, inform a series of recommendations developed to assist Australian horn communities to build and strengthen their organisations, thereby preserving and perpetuating this practice for horn players in Australia.