Vienna Calling Festival: Passport to Vienna

Originally from Loveland, Colorado, Jeremy Kreutz was appointed a member of the Houston Symphony in 2020 by Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada. Prior to joining the orchestra, he worked under conductors such as Marin Alsop, Christoph Eschenbach, David Robertson, Robert Spano, Larry Rachleff, and Valery Gergiev. His primary studies were completed with Darrett Adkins at the Oberlin Conservatory, and Desmond Hoebig at Rice University’s Shepherd School. Kreutz has performed both domestically and abroad as an orchestral and chamber musician, including engagements with the Aspen Music Festival, Round Top Institute, National Youth Orchestra of the USA, and the Pacific Music Festival in Japan. An avid chamber musician, he has studied with members of the Juilliard, Borromeo, Miró, Verona, and Cleveland Quartets, and was a two time fellow at the Kneisel Hall Festival in Maine. In the summer of 2017, he was invited to perform alongside members of the International Contemporary Ensemble as part of the Ojai Festival, premiering works by Vijay Iyer and Courtney Bryan. While at Oberlin, he was featured in the premiere of Jesse Jones’ Snippet Variations, recorded for the Oberlin Music label. Kreutz began learning the cello at age 11 in his local public school system, where his father taught the orchestral program for 30 years. He continued his studies in high school with cellist Katherine Azari. He considers community engagement an incredibly important aspect of his life, and has worked with public schools in Colorado, Ohio, Texas, and Illinois, as well as Colorado’s El Sistema program. Outside of music, he enjoys exploring Houston’s vibrant food culture and marathons of competition reality shows.

Jonathan Fischer joined the Houston Symphony as principal oboe in September 2012 and was invited to join the faculty of the University of Houston in September 2014. Prior to his appointment with the Houston Symphony, Fischer served as associate principal oboe with the San Francisco Symphony for nine seasons. He has also held positions with The Cleveland Orchestra, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Grant Park Orchestra, Santa Fe Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Savannah Symphony, and the New World Symphony. Fischer has performed as a guest principal with many of the nation’s leading orchestras including the Boston, Chicago, and Baltimore Symphony Orchestras, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the St. Louis and Atlanta Symphonies, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. He has performed as a soloist with the Houston Symphony, Grant Park Symphony, New World Symphony, and the San Francisco Symphony. Fischer currently teaches at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music and Texas Music Festival. He has taught and performed at the Aspen Music Festival and the Oberlin Conservatory. He has given masterclasses at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, the San Francisco Conservatory, Rice University, and University of Michigan, and has been a coach at the New World Symphony. He holds a degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Richard Woodhams. A native of South Carolina, Fischer now enjoys living in the Heights with his dog, a Louisiana Catahoula mix.

Anne Leek was educated at Juilliard where she received her bachelor of music, master of music and doctor of musical arts degrees. During her time in New York, she performed on a recital in Carnegie Hall sponsored by the Artists International Contest, which she won. During the 1980s, Leek was Solo Principal Oboe of the Mannheim Orchestra in Germany. Before joining the Houston Symphony, she played a two year position as principal oboe in the Pittsburgh Symphony, under the baton of Lorin Maazel. Along with her career as an orchestral musician, Leek has taught at Indiana University, Arizona State University and has taught at the University of Houston. As a recital soloist and chamber musician, she has appeared in numerous major cities across the world.

Ian Mayton, a native of Durham, North Carolina, was appointed fourth horn of the Houston Symphony by Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada in November 2014. Mayton has performed with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the North Carolina Symphony. After completing his Bachelor of Music degree at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Mayton spent a year in the Master of Music program at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music studying with William VerMeulen.

Hailed as “one of today’s superstars of the international brass scene,” William VerMeulen leads a varied musical life of soloist, orchestral principal, chamber musician, master teacher, and music publisher. VerMeulen has been principal horn of the Houston Symphony since 1990 and has performed as a guest principal horn with the Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Prior to joining the Houston Symphony, he was employed with the orchestras of Columbus, Honolulu, and Kansas City. VerMeulen has been an artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and participates as a performer and on faculty with the finest music festivals and chamber music presenters, among which include the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Aspen Music Festival, Music@Menlo, Banff Centre, Da Camera of Houston, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Joshua Bell and Friends, Tanglewood, Sarasota Music Festival, Strings Music Festival, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, New World Symphony, Domaine Forget, Chamber Music Northwest, and the Sun Valley Summer Symphony where he also serves as principal horn. VerMeulen has performed to critical acclaim on four continents as a soloist and chamber musician and is a popular artist at International Horn Society Symposiums where he was a member of the advisory council. He serves as a board member of the International Horn Competition of America. Along with the dozens of orchestral recordings in his discography are numerous solo and chamber recordings, including the complete Mozart Horn Concerti with Christoph Eschenbach and the Houston Symphony, Texas Horns featuring the Dallas and Houston horn sections, and “The Christmas Horn” which features VerMeulen combined with his students from Rice University, conducted by Dale Clevenger. He has recorded live the Brahms Trio op. 40, Mozart Quintet K. 407, Beethoven Septet, Ravel Tombeau de Couperin for wind quintet, Schubert Octet, Spohr Nonet, Ligeti Bagatelles, and the Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 1. A champion of new music, VerMeulen has had numerous pieces written for him including concerti by esteemed American composers Samuel Adler, Pierre Jalbert, Tony DiLorenzo, and the horn cantata “Canticum Sacrum” by Robert Bradshaw. He recorded the Canto XI by Samuel Adler for a CD called First Chairs. Among his awards and honors, VerMeulen received first prize at the 1980 International Horn Society Soloist Competition and the Shapiro Award for Most Outstanding Brass Player at the Tanglewood Festival. Regarded as one of the most influential horn teachers of all time, VerMeulen is a professor of horn at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and brass artist-in-residence at the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Glenn Gould School. His students perform in numerous major orchestras throughout the world including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, Canadian Brass, Cleveland Orchestra, and the San Francisco, Cincinnati, Montreal, St. Louis, Toronto, Detroit, Dallas, and Houston Symphonies. Over 250 positions of employment have been offered to his students. 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 received his training from Dale Clevenger at Northwestern University and the Interlochen Arts Academy and is founder and president of VerMeulen Music, L.L.C., which offers music and products for horn players worldwide at www.vermeulenmusic.com VerMeulen is married to Houston Opera and Ballet violinist Sylvia VerMeulen, and they have two lovely children, Michael and Nicole. In his rare free time, he enjoys having good friends over to share in his passion for fine cooking and wine.

Associate principal bassoonist Isaac Schultz, a native of Exeter, New Hampshire, earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where he studied with Benjamin Kamins. While at Rice, Isaac was a fellow at the Music Academy of the West and the Aspen Music School. In 2015, he was a prize winner at the Fischoff International Chamber Music Competition and a finalist at the Coleman Competition. Away from music, he enjoys rock climbing and other outdoor activities.

Nathan Cloeter, a native of Lake Jackson, Texas, was appointed as Assistant Principal/Utility Horn of the Houston Symphony in 2023 by Music Director Juraj Valčuha. He has previously performed with the Houston Symphony, Houston Grand Opera, and the Naples Philharmonic, and he has spent summers as a fellow of the Tanglewood Music Center. While a fellow at Tanglewood, he earned many plaudits for a performance as the solo horn of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony conducted by Andris Nelsons. Cloeter holds a bachelor’s degree from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music where he studied with William VerMeulen.