Alec Frank-Gemmill

English French horn player Alec Frank-Gemmill has fulfilled the promise of his designation as a BBC New Generation Artist, rising to the position of principal hornist with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and winning a faculty post at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music. He is one of the few players of the horn to achieve equal proficiency on both modern and historical instruments. Frank-Gemmill was born in 1985 in England's southeastern Kent region. He attended Robinson College, Cambridge University, majoring in music and graduating in 2006 at the top of his class. His teacher was Marcus Bates. Frank-Gemmill went on for a Master's degree at Guildhall and finished off his education with postgraduate work in Zurich, Switzerland, with Glen Borling and Radovan Vlatković, and at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin with Marie-Luise Neunecker. In 2013 he appeared on the Berlin television program Stars von Morgen (Stars of Tomorrow) with host Rolando Villazón. Becoming a BBC New Generation Artist in 2014 for a three-year term, Frank-Gemmill appeared with several orchestras under the BBC umbrella. He favored unusual horn repertory by the likes of Charles Koechlin, Malcolm Arnold, and Ethel Smith. With the Scottish Chamber Orchestra he has performed works by Ligeti, Strauss, and James MacMillan. Also in Scotland he has played Mozart concerts on a natural horn with conductor Richard Egarr. Frank-Gemmill's interest in historical performance began when he was an undergraduate and traveled to the Festival de Saintes in France for a performance under the baton of Philippe Herreweghe. He has also played instruments of the early 19th century such as the piston horn and Vienna horn, and his first two recordings, for the BIS label, also explored historical horn repertory. Frank-Gemmill has often performed with the Academy of Ancient Music and with Glasgow's Cottier Chamber Project. He has been active as a chamber musician on both modern and historical instruments, and he has continued to develop his studies of historical horn playing with the help of a grant from Creative Scotland.
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