Alumni Profiles

I grew up in the Minneapolis area and decided to come to Lawrence because of the small student population and my impressions of Mr. DeCorsey during my auditions. The personal attention you receive at Lawrence is unlike most other music schools. It allows you to grow and mature as a musician while getting a top-tier education. I particularly enjoyed the chamber music I was able to make—it instilled a love of wind quintet playing that I still enjoy and would do full time if I could.

Since Lawrence, I have moved to Chicago and maintain a busy freelance career along with a large private studio. I originally moved to Chicago to be a part of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago (a training orchestra of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra) and stayed to do my masters at Northwestern University. I have since become a member of several regional orchestras including the Lake Forest and South Bend symphonies and the IRIS Orchestra in Tennessee. I also play regularly with Lyric Opera of Chicago and Broadway in Chicago productions.

One of my proudest moments since leaving Lawrence was winning the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition with my wind quintet, Quintet Attacca, in 2002. We have been together since 1999 and have only had one personnel change! They are my favorite people to play with and we are like family.

Some of my best memories of the horn studio are the road trips - driving through snow to Iowa and making up lyrics to horn excerpts, getting lost on the way back from Chicago in our Lawrence van, and the trip to Björklunden for a chamber music weekend.

While I was born in Oregon, I consider myself from Fort Collins, Colorado. I moved there when I was five, and I lived there until I departed for Lawrence at eighteen. Of all the colleges I visited, Lawrence made me feel the most welcome. I was drawn to the idea of getting a well-rounded education and having other options if for some reason my plan to be a performer turned out to be a bad fit. In hindsight, I could not have made a better choice for the person I was at age eighteen. The growth I experienced at Lawrence was the perfect prelude to the next step, which for me was a masters degree at a bigger university (Northwestern) in a bigger city.

After Northwestern I gained orchestral experience performing in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and the Milwaukee Symphony before winning my own position in the Virginia Symphony (Norfolk). I spent four seasons there before winning my current position in the Oregon Symphony, a semi-homecoming for me. Since returning to the West Coast, I have had the opportunity to perform with the Seattle and San Francisco Symphonies.

The friends I made in the horn studio at Lawrence remain some of my closest. Our paths continue to cross in ways we could not have predicted, and I always enjoy the opportunity to catch up and reminisce.

I’m originally from Turtle Lake, WI.  I chose Lawrence because I liked the close-knit community, beautiful campus, and strong music and academic programs. After Lawrence, I went to Northwestern for a MM and then to UW-Madison for a DMA.  During and after my DMA, I interned for the Madison Symphony, spent some time at Wisconsin Public Television, had an interim position at UW-Madison as the Assistant Director of the School of Music, taught horn at UW-Rock County, taught horn at Lawrence, and taught horn at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.  I also played with numerous ensembles in southern WI—Madison Symphony, Waukesha Symphony, Beloit-Janesville Symphony, Dubuque Symphony, Central Wisconsin Symphony, Madison Savoyards, Con Vivo Chamber Ensemble, etc. Currently I run Rowan Prep, the community music school at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ.  I teach horn lessons through this school as well as the Music School of Delaware in Wilmington, DE.  I freelance with various local orchestras and have a brass trio and woodwind quintet.

One of my proudest accomplishments was getting to teach at Lawrence while Professor DeCorsey was in London on sabbatical. These teachers that I have the utmost respect for thought enough of me to let me come in and work with their students for a year.  It was great!

I don’t know if I can put into words exactly how Lawrence impacted me.  I love Lawrence.  I loved it as a student and I loved it as a faculty member.  I recorded my DMA recording on the Chapel stage with Lawrence people.  Many of the jobs and opportunities that I’ve had after Lawrence were due to connections with Lawrence horn players.  (Thanks, Kathleen!) I lived with Lawrence horn players while I was doing my MM.  I met my husband at Lawrence.  I’d have a harder time trying to figure out what parts of my life Lawrence didn’t impact.

Some of my favorite memories include horn dinners, pre-concert séances, Hobnob road trips, Björklunden weekends, the SAI horn family, year-end parties at the DeCorsey household, and learning the Lawrence horn studio lyrics to excerpts, just to name a few.

I am originally from Elk Mound, WI, and I first became aware of Lawrence because my parents both went to school there!  I loved my time at Lawrence - it really helped me to become more focused on my goal of being a professional horn player while also making me a well-rounded, informed, curious member of society.  Especially meaningful experiences for me at LU included studying abroad in Senegal, playing the Gliere Concerto with the orchestra, and playing Miles Ahead with LUJE.  I was also the second-ever Horn Mom, which, I hear, is a tradition that continues to this day in the horn studio. 

After graduating from LU, I went straight to Chicago to pursue a Master's degree in horn performance at DePaul.  After completing that degree, I stayed in Chicago with my boyfriend (now husband), Evan Jacobson, and we never left!  I ended up doing all sorts of odd jobs and gigs that I never would have imagined doing when I was in school, and I'm very happy with the variety of teaching and playing that I get to do for a living now.  I currently teach fiddle, horn, and trumpet at the Old Town School of Folk Music and in Oak Park, and I play in two fantastic chamber groups (V3NTO Brass Trio and Alloy (formerly Über) Horn Quartet), as well as several bands, including the award-winning folk/Americana band Jonas Friddle and the Majority.  LU helped me get started on my path toward everything I do, and I'm very grateful for that!

Originally from Interlochen MI, I chose to attend Lawrence because I wanted to be in a place where I could explore other fields in addition to getting a comprehensive musical education. I was a Bachelor of Music student in horn performance, and also took plenty of music history, art history and technical theater courses. I discovered as early as mid-freshman year that I had a strong interest in Arts Administration, and Professor DeCorsey encouraged me to discuss my interests with then-Professor of Music David Becker. After that conversation, I became Professor Becker’s administrative assistant and for the next three years helped plan orchestra tours and was in charge of communications to orchestra members. I also worked as a Recording Engineer in the Conservatory. After graduating from Lawrence, I earned a Master of Music degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison while also working for the Wisconsin Union Theater as Concert Series Coordinator.

I became Artist Services Manager, Performing Arts Services at Princeton University in January 2015. I am based at Richardson Auditorium, the University’s historic concert hall, built in 1894. My main duties include managing and organizing all production information for over 200 events per year, ranging from chamber music to large symphony orchestras, guest lectures and other public events. I also serve as the stage manager for the 4 annual student variety shows. Richardson hosts all major performances by students in the Department of Music, performances by the Princeton University Concerts series, external clients such as the Princeton Symphony Orchestra and New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, and many public lectures. Recent lecturers include Queen Noor of Jordan, Itzhak and Toby Perlman, Laverne Cox and General Mark Milley, Chief of Staff of the US Army. 

I am really proud to be an alum of the Lawrence Horn Studio - it is a wonderful collection of people with varying interests who come together to make fantastic music and share 4-5 years together, supporting each other musically, academically and socially along the way. The close knit nature of the studio helped me form friendships that continue now and hopefully for many years to come.

I grew up in Shoreview, Minnesota, a suburb of St. Paul and chose Lawrence for the balance it provided between a strong academic program and musical opportunities, as well as the nurturing focus of the campus community. My time at Lawrence provided me with a wide array of opportunities for growth as an individual, as a musician, and as a leader. I grew tremendously as a person, learning about the world and myself through my experiences on campus.

Since college, my career has focused on lifelong learning in some form or another. I received a master's degree in horn at the University of Wisconsin after Lawrence, studying with Doug Hill. Since then, I've worked in the arts - in the role of education director for a regional orchestra and as a fundraising professional for a performing arts center. Today, I support the work of Wisconsin Public Television as Manager of Corporate and Community Development, engaging businesses across Wisconsin who sponsor programming and activities at the station and overseeing the special events of the station that raise dollars to support WPT's work.

My favorite studio memories include horn séances in Professor DeCorsey's office, playing a work by Gunther Schuller with soloist Joe Lovano and Schuller conducting, playing Mahler 1, Rite of Spring and the Scriabin Piano Concerto in orchestra, horn dinners, and trips to see the CSO play. The horn studio was a strong part of my Lawrence family and I'm in contact with many LU horn players today.

I'm proudest of the balance I have found between my professional career and my family. I enjoy both elements of my life and still find time to play horn throughout the year with local organizations. I just played Mendelssohn 3 and it was a great exercise for my brain to play horn in A.
In 2009 Kathleen Callaghan was the recipient of Lawrence’s Marshall B. Hulbert Young Alumni Service Award