Horn Player Promoted to Chair

Horn player Robert Ward receives promotion from associate principal horn player to principal chair in the San Francisco Symphony.

Robert Ward has already performed many of the duties expected of an orchestral principal chair, but only recently was he awarded the official title. The San Francisco Symphony has been searching for a chair since 2000, when principal John Zirbel's tenure was turned down. One wonders why the symphony took so long to fill the chair when they already had someone in their midst. But Ward and Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas were both reluctant to comment on the process of choosing principals.

The principal horn player is responsible for the horn solos within the orchestra, a tall order for an instrument with some difficult pieces in the repertoire. The principal also runs his section of the orchestra. The horn section's unique place as an intermediary between the woodwinds and the brass lends the principal horn player an extra amount of influence.

51-year-old Robert Ward has been with the San Francisco Symphony since he was 24. He is very enthusiastic about this next step in his career.

For more information, please read the article in the San Francisco Chronicle.