French Horn
As the daughter of an opera singer and a music store owner it only followed that Jennifer
Harrison would grow up to be a musician. Choosing the instrument which she felt possessed the
most gorgeous tone, she began life as a French horn player at the age of 11. As a teen she had the
fortune of playing at the Tanglewood Music Festival in Massachusetts under the baton of
Leonard Bernstein which sealed her goal of pursuing a music career.
After her studies at Northwestern University, Jen played with the New Mexico Symphony and
thoroughly relished working as a symphonic player. Since moving to Portland, she has been
freelancing across the Pacific Northwest region as a classical and pop rock horn player. In
addition to being principal horn of the Orchestra Nova Northwest, she is currently the principal
horn of the Portland Chamber Orchestra, a member of the following ensembles; Portland Opera
Orchestra, the Portland Brass Quintet, the Sunriver Music Festival orchestra and the Rose City
Brass Trio. Jen is also a regular substitute with the Oregon Symphony, Oregon Ballet Theatre
Orchestra and the Eugene Symphony.
When she is not playing the horn, she can be found doing garden design, hiking the trails of the
Pacific Northwest, and playing guitar, drums or ukulele in local rock bands.
The French Horn section is sponsored by Charles Roberts.
Currently living in Salem, Derek is an active freelancer in the Willamette valley. In addition to Orchestra Nova Northwest, he has played with the Newport Symphony and Vancouver Symphony. In 2018, he received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Portland State University. Derek began his musical studies in saxophone as a child, and later in voice. Not caring for the improvisational nature of the saxophone and after having developed a love for orchestral music, Derek ambitiously took on the challenge as an adult of learning one of the most notoriously difficult instruments: the French horn. While he was attending PSU, he took lessons from Dr. Daniel Partridge and Dr. Melissa Robinson with the goal of being proficient enough to play in the university orchestra by the time he graduated. He fell in love with the instrument and quickly rose to being the principal player of the university’s wind symphony, orchestra, opera, and had a senior recital as a non-major.
In Salem, Derek co-founded the wind quintet, Ventus, plays principal horn with Salem Philharmonia Orchestra, and 2nd horn with Salem Orchestra. He lives with his two Tonkinese cats and works for ODOT as a traffic signal timer. In his free time, he enjoys learning new skills needed to work on his house and tends his garden.
The French Horn section is sponsored by Charles Roberts.
The French Horn section is sponsored by Charles Roberts.
The French Horn section is sponsored by Charles Roberts.