Karl Pituch

“Your performance of my horn concerto went beyond horn playing and the difficulties found therein, and revealed historical, poetic and atmospheric allusions that I’d always hoped the music might reveal. I admired your playing enormously...”
John Williams, composer

“The highlight of the morning was Pituch’s truly virtuoso performance... He played with a refined lyricism and elegance, shaping the noble melodies with the joy of spring and the athletic hunting calls with off-the-cuff flair.”
Mark Stryker, Detroit Free Press

“Confident and technically flawless, this artist’s playing goes beyond the means to find the music...a musical performance with a beautiful sense of line coupled with a gorgeous tone...”
Barbara Zuck, Columbus Dispatch

“Special note must be made of the truly wonderful horn playing of Karl Pituch. He takes one of the most difficult instruments and makes it sound easy. His playing is a joy to hear.”
Cary Smith, Honolulu Star-Bulletin

Karl Pituch was named Principal Horn of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 2000. Before joining the DSO, Pituch was Associate Principal Horn with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Principal Horn with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, the Jacksonville Symphony and the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra. He served as a guest Principal Horn for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Chautauqua Festival Orchestra and the Grand Teton Festival Orchestra. Pituch can be heard on many recordings with the Dallas, San Francisco and Honolulu Symphony Orchestras.

Pituch was the grand prize winner at the 1989 American Solo Horn Competition and has been a finalist at many other solo competitions. As a soloist, Pituch has performed with orchestras in Japan, Hawaii, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Ohio, Florida and Michigan. He has been a frequent guest artist at numerous horn conferences and has served as a judge in the American Horn Competition. An active chamber musician, Pituch was a member of the Spring Wind Quintet for 11 years and participated in chamber music festivals in Marlboro, Vermont; Crested Butte, Colorado; Kapalua, Maui; Kazusa, Japan and Freden, Germany (with the American Horn Quartet).

Pituch earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Toledo where he studied with Mary Kihslinger. He also studied with Froydis Wekre of the Oslo Philharmonic and Dale Clevenger of the Chicago Symphony. For seven years, he was the horn instructor at the University of Hawaii.

Denise Tryon

Denise Tryon joined the Philadelphia Orchestra in October of 2009 as fourth horn. She was previously the fourth horn of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, as well as holding positions with the Baltimore, Columbus, and New World Symphonies. She also participated in the Colorado Music Festival and Pacific Music Festival.

Ms. Tryon graduated high school from the famed Interlochen Arts Academy, and received her Bachelor of Music degree with a Distinction in Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. While at NEC, she formed the Taiyo Wind Quintet.

As a member of the Taiyo Wind Quintet, she won the Grand Prize in the Shoreline Alliance Chamber Competition, the First Prize in the Coleman Chamber Competition, and the Second Prize in the Carmel Chamber Music Awards. Taiyo was only the second chamber group to be admitted into the prestigious Artist Diploma Program at the New England Conservatory, as well as being awarded The Presidential Scholarship. While a member of Taiyo, Tryon coached with John Harbison, Luciano Berio, György Ligeti, and Elliott Carter.

An active and accomplished educator, Ms. Tryon started Audition Mode, a yearly horn seminar with her former colleague, Karl Pituch. She has taught at Towson University, Wayne State University, and she currently is on the faculty at The Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore.