About Us
Horns
| EDWARD ALLEN | Section Principal |
| GREGORY HILL | Principal |
| PETER SHARMAN | Sub Principal |
| HEATHER THOMPSON | Sub Principal |
EDWARD ALLEN
Section Principal Horn
Born in Washington State, USA, Edward was appointed Principal Horn of the NZSO in 1984. Since then he has frequently appeared as a soloist with the NZSO and the New Zealand Chamber Orchestra. He has performed concertos with most of the regional orchestras in New Zealand including the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, Dunedin Sinfonia (Southern Sinfonia), Wellington Sinfonia (Vector Wellington Orchestra) and the Auckland Sinfonietta. In addition he has given solo and chamber music recitals with Bruce Greenfield, Diedre Irons, Tamas Vesmas, Wilma Smith, Michael Houston, Thomas Hecht, Vesa Matti-Leppanen, Emma Sayers and Philip Walsh. Recordings for Concert FM have included many solo pieces and chamber works. He has also appeared as Guest Principal Horn with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and the Christchurch Symphony.
In addition to orchestral music, Ed has been a member of several smaller ensembles including Stroma, New Zealand Brass, Concertante Ensemble, Twentieth Century Classics Ensemble and the New Zealand Woodwind Quintet.
As well as performing, he has been Artist Teacher at Victoria University, Wellington, Visiting Lecturer of Music at University of Auckland and has taught at the Australian National Music Camp. Prior to his appointment with the NZSO, Edward was a member of the Utah Symphony Orchestra (USA) for 19 years and completed BMus and MMus degrees at the University of Utah, where he then became Adjunct Associate Professor of Music.
When not performing or teaching he enjoys cooking, cycling and horticulture.
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GREGORY HILL
Principal Horn
Greg studied horn at Auckland University and Victoria University of Wellington and furthered his studies privately in the USA. Before joining the NZSO in 1987, he played in several Australian Orchestras including the Sydney and Melbourne Symphonies, and was lecturer in Horn at the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music. Greg is currently a horn tutor at the NZ School of Music, and lives in Newtown with his two sons and his wife, Anne, who is a First Violinist in the NZSO.
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PETER SHARMAN
Sub Principal Horn
Peter was born in Wellington, the eldest of four children of a well-known music teacher and a scientist. They were determined to create a string quartet and Peter was assigned the viola. Peter studied viola at Victoria University of Wellington but, after unsuccessfully attempting to realise the major horn solos on that instrument, decided to change to the french horn in his second year. Peter went on to study at the Manus College of Music in New York and joined the NZSO in 1984, making him currently the longest serving member of the brass section. The highlight of Peter’s NZSO career to date was performing in Seville in 1992. Peter’s interests are wide ranging and include his two children, the outdoors, the sciences, curries, listening to music, and any combination of the above. One of the additional strings to Peter’s bow is as a computer designer and in that capacity Peter has contributed to the development of orchestral software in use by the NZSO and a number of other orchestras.
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HEATHER THOMPSON
After graduating from Auckland University in modern languages and music, Heather studied in Berlin and London with Gerd Seifert and Ifor James. Freelancing in the UK and Europe led to a position with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. In 1981 she returned to New Zealand to become the first female wind principal in the NZSO.
Twelve years of marriage, three children and life on a back country sheep farm in Oparau followed. But whenever Franz-Paul Decker and the big Bruckner and Mahler symphonies he conducted appeared on the NZSO schedule, Heather was asked to supplement the horn section. Life was a challenge on the farm through the economic downturn in the mid-1980s, but so was repeatedly dusting off the cobwebs on the horn. Auditioning to rejoin the section certainly solved the latter problem!
Heather very much enjoys teaching at the New Zealand School of Music, tutoring the NZSO National Youth Orchestra horn section, and playing chamber music. Yoga is a recent passion and her husband Steve has introduced her to his world of science, which means the occasional trip back to the UK, and catching up with old friends.
