Artists

The Brazilian horn player Luiz Garcia was born in São Paulo in 1971 and began his musical education at an early age. Thanks to a generous scholarship from the Vitae Foundation, he was able to attend the renowned Juilliard School of Music in New York and after that the New England Conservatory in Boston, where he graduated in 1995 with distinction having studied with Charles Kavalovski. While still a student in Boston, Luiz substituted on many occasions with the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops Orchestras. In 1995 he joined the Empire Brass, touring the world and recording for the Telarc label. He returned to Brazil in 1997 to join the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra (OSESP) as principal horn, holding this position until 2001, when he began his career in Europe. Under the guidance of his mentor, Stefan Dohr, Luiz started performing regularly as guest principal horn in orchestras such as the  Berlin Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Berlin, Bavarian Radio, Cologne Radio, Frankfurt Radio, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Tonhalle Zurich, Mahler Chamber, among others under the most renowned conductors. Most recently he performed as guest principal horn with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.  Between 2002 and 2006 he was also a guest artist of the German Brass. Luiz has served on the faculty of many festivals, including the Pacific Music Festival in Japan, Instrumenta Verano in Mexico, Boston University Tanglewood Institute and the Campos do Jordão International Festival in Brazil. He was horn professor at the State of Rio de Janeiro Federal University (Unirio) from 2009 to 2014, principal horn of the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra from 2007 to 2014 as well as principal horn of the Sao Paulo Opera from 2012 to 2014. During the 2008-2009 season he served as guest solo horn of the Berlin Staatskapelle for the complete Mahler cycle, both in Vienna and New York. He is the only Latin American horn player to appear as featured artist of the International Horn Society Symposium for three editions, in 2013, 2017 and 2022, and has recently been invited to appear as clinician at the Juilliard School of Music in New York and at the Cincinnati College of Music during the last US tour of the São Paulo Symphony, where he regained his post as principal horn in 2014.  

Valerie Sly currently serves as principal horn of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. She previously held positions as principal horn of the West Virginia and Adrian (Michigan) Symphony Orchestras, and in summer 2021, joined the Des Moines Opera Orchestra as third horn. Valerie has appeared twice as a featured soloist for the Vermont Mozart Festival, performing Mozart’s second and fourth concertos with the festival’s chamber orchestra. She has also frequently performed with the Colorado, Virginia, Richmond, and Memphis Symphonies, as well as the Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra and ProMusica Chamber Orchestra. In summer 2022 she performed as guest principal horn with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in Auckland, New Zealand. In addition, Valerie has performed in several other countries including Switzerland, Germany, Italy, China, and Singapore. Summer orchestra fellowships include Spoleto Festival USA, Lucerne Festival Academy, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and Colorado College Summer Music Festival. In September 2021 she returned to Lucerne as a member of the festival’s alumni ensemble. Outside of the orchestra Valerie enjoys baking bread, delving into complicated cooking projects, and spending time with her husband Everett who is also a professional horn player. Ms. Sly is currently completing a Doctorate degree at the University of Colorado Boulder under the tutelage of Michael Thornton. She also holds a master’s degree from the Yale School of Music where she studied with William Purvis, and a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin Conservatory where she studied with Roland Pandolfi.

Johanna Yarbrough joined the Louisiana State University music faculty as the Julian R. & Sidney Nicolle Caruth Assistant Professor of French Horn in 2024. Prior to her appointment at LSU, she was a member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra beginning in 2012. While a member of the DSO, Johanna actively pursued educational opportunities, including her role as an adjunct horn instructor at Wayne State University. In 2020, she co-created the DSO’s Summer Institute, a fully online summer music festival. She has also served as a judge for the university division of the International Horn Competition of America (IHCA) and frequently tours the country presenting masterclasses and recitals at universities and conservatories. Johanna has won many prestigious awards, including first prize of the 2009 University division of the IHCA. She has appeared as a soloist with the DSO on numerous occasions. She was a member of the Britt Festival Orchestra in Jacksonville, Oregon , where she performed for three weeks each year between 2014-2022 under the direction of Teddy Abrams. She has performed with several renowned orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Grand Teton Music Festival, Festival Mozaik, and the Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival, and she is a member of the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings. Johanna completed her graduate studies with a professional studies certificate at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles. Prior to her time in LA, Johanna attended the University of Alabama, where she graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Music degree. She also studied abroad at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, Norway with famed horn pedagogue, Frøydis Ree Wekre. Johanna’s other principal teachers include David Krehbiel, Andrew Bain, Charles “Skip” Snead, and Michelle Stebleton. Johanna was born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida and now resides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Named Teacher of the Year by the Alabama Music Teachers Association and Music Educator of the Year by the Arts Council of Tuscaloosa, pianist Kevin T. Chance has been hailed as “a superlative musician” playing “with musical conviction and muscularity.”  He has performed throughout the United States and abroad as both soloist and collaborator. Recent engagements include performances at Carnegie Hall as well as concerto appearances with Bernstein's Age of Anxiety and Rachamninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini with the Huxford Symphony Orchestra, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the University of Alabama Wind Ensemble, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with the Athens Chorale in Georgia, and Gerald Finzi’s Eclogue.  In March 2016, he also appeared with the Tuscaloosa Symphony in a performance of Saint-Saens's Carnival of the Animals. Recital engagements have taken him throughout the U.S. with recent appearances at the American Matthay Association Festivals, the University of Oklahoma, the Louisiana Piano Series International, and the Albion College International Piano Festival. He has also been presented in performances by the Mobile Opera, the Mississippi Opera, Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, the University of Texas at Brownsville, the University of South Carolina, Columbus State University, Auburn University, Millsaps College, the University of North Dakota, the Saratoga Arts Fest, and Bucknell University.  Dr. Chance was a prizewinner of several regional and national competitions including the National Society of Arts and Letters Career Awards Competition, Music Teachers National Association Competitions (MTNA), and the Brevard Music Center Concerto Competition. Continued on kevinchance.com.