The Sun Valley Summer Symphony is still months away, but events are beginning to take life as the summer nears. Principal horn player William VerMeulen has played in the Sun Valley Summer Symphony for 16 years and this summer has planned a special horn concert, "Hornucopia," which will feature 12 horn players.
"The closing concert for the season will be 'An Alpine Symphony,' which is very fitting for Sun Valley," VerMeulen said. "A section of the symphony requires a huge group of hunting horns. We already have a dream team in Sun Valley, so I went out and got the best horn players from around the country."
Besides playing for "An Alpine Symphony," VerMeulen organized the "Hornucopia" concert to feature music scored for horns as well as crossover to jazz and rock. He said the symphony will play Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and might include a drum set and bass for a jazz section.
VerMeulen is a soloist, orchestral principal, chamber musician, master teacher and music publisher. In addition, he is professor of horn at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston with students performing in numerous major orchestras throughout the world including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra and the San Francisco, Cincinnati, Montreal, Dallas and Houston symphonies.
In 1985 he was invited to the White House to receive a "Distinguished Teacher of America Certificate of Excellence" from President Reagan and the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars.
VerMeulen's popularity with his students has led to one of the most exciting events of the season for the Sun Valley Summer Symphony—a performance with violinist Itzhak Perlman.
"He does not do much in the summer," VerMeulen said. "He has his own music program in Shelter Island, N.Y., and spends the summers in East Hampton. It's very unusual for him to do anything during this time."
VerMeulen's student and close family friend Rob Johnson is married to Perlman's daughter, and after a conversation on how wonderful it would be to play in Sun Valley, Johnson thought Perlman could be convinced to come to Idaho—and he was.
"Itzhak's manager contacted me and said he never makes calls like this because Itzhak Perlman does not have to call anyone to make a date," VerMeulen said. "Itzhak Perlman is a living legend and it will be an amazing event."
Perlman will play the symphony's opening night on Monday, Aug. 2, at 6:30 p.m. at the Sun Valley Pavilion. Including in the opening night's performance will be Tchaikovsky's "Capriccio Italien, Opus 45," and Bruch's "Concerto No. 1 in G minor for Violin, Opus 26." For details, visit svsummersymphony.org.
Sabina Dana Plasse: splasse@mtexpress.com
William VerMeulen is principal horn player for the Sun Valley Summer Symphony. He will lead the symphony’s “Hornucopia” concert on Aug. 15. Photo by
