Profile

Lydia Van Dreel, Professor of Horn at the University of Oregon, joined the faculty in 2006. Prior to that appointment, they held a ten-year tenured position as Co-Principal Horn of the Sarasota Orchestra in Sarasota, Florida. Van Dreel earned the Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Wisconsin—Madison, and the Master of Music Degree from The Juilliard School.

 

Professor Van Dreel’s performing career has encompassed a wide variety of activities as an orchestral, solo, chamber and recording artist. Currently, Van Dreel is a member of the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra, The IRIS Orchestra (Memphis, TN), Quadre—The Voice of Four Horns, the Eugene Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Next, the Oregon Wind Quintet, and the Oregon Brass Quintet. Additionally, Van Dreel has performed as a member of the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra, the Britt Music Festival Orchestra, The Spoleto Festival Orchestra, The New World Symphony Orchestra, The Florida Wind Quintet, The Madison Symphony Orchestra, and the Oregon Mozart Players. Van Dreel performs frequently as an extra musician with organizations such as the Oregon Symphony Orchestra, The Florida Orchestra, The Naples Philharmonic, The Portland Opera, The Eugene Opera, and the Astoria Music Festival Orchestra, among others.

A frequent concerto soloist, Professor Van Dreel has been a featured performer with the Peninsula Symphony, The Sarasota Orchestra, The Colorado Music Festival Orchestra, the Salem Philharmonia, the Willamette Valley Symphony, The University of Oregon Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble, the Salem Concert Band, and the San Jose Wind Ensemble, and others.

 

Professor Van Dreel collaborates on a wide variety of chamber music and recording projects. Notable recent projects include their first solo CD, “New Millennium Music for Horn”, released in 2014 on the Quadre Records Label, “Red Desert”, music of David Crumb, released on the BRIDGE record label in 2015, a featured performance in the 2012 Superbowl Chrysler commercial “It’s Halftime in America”, and a world premier performance at the 47th annual International Horn Symposium in Los Angeles of “Gjallarhorn”, an electro-acoustic piece for natural horn and electronics controlled by motion detector, created in collaboration with composer, inventor and intermedia technology instructor, Chester Udell.

 

As an educator, Van Dreel has presented master classes and topics for students of all ages, both as an individual educator and as a chamber musician. Recent presentations include events at Indiana University, the Kenya Conservatoire in Nairobi, Kenya, The Makimura Cultural Arts Center, Tumaini University, Tanzania, The University of Southern California, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Imperial College (London, UK), Ball State University, Lawrence Conservatory, The University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Willamette University, Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, Interlochen Arts Academy, Central Washington University, University of South Florida, Butler University, and numerous junior highs, high schools, and community music schools.

 

A tireless advocate for music and musicians, Van Dreel hosted the 2015 and 2010 Northwest Horn Symposium, serves as the recording reviews editor for The Horn Call (journal of the International Horn Society) and serves or has served on the board of directors of Chamber Music at Beall, the Eugene-Springfield Youth Symphony (formerly Arts Umbrella), and the American Federation of Musicians Local 689 and Local 427-721.

Berceuse op.19 from Lydia Van Dreel on Vimeo.