Dale Clevenger, Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, János Rolla, La Grande Écurie et la Chambre du Roy, Jean-Claude Malgoire

Dale Clevenger was the principal hornist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for nearly 50 years. He made a variety of recordings as a soloist and was also active as an educator. Clevenger was born on July 2, 1940, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. His father was president of the local opera association, and he heard live classical performances early in life. Clevenger took up the trumpet at age 11, switching to the horn two years later, and he benefited from a strong band program at Chattanooga High School. He attended Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, graduating in 1962, and he had additional mentorship from two members of the Chicago Symphony's legendary brass section, tubist Arnold Jacobs and trumpeter Adolph Herseth. After graduating, Clevenger landed horn posts with the American Symphony Orchestra, the Symphony of the Air, directed by Alfred Wallenstein, and the Kansas City Philharmonic. He joined the Chicago Symphony as principal hornist in 1966. During his career with the Chicago Symphony, Clevenger made guest appearances internationally, including one with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Daniel Barenboim. He was a frequent guest at festivals, including the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the Florida Music Festival in Sarasota, and the Affinis Music Festival in Japan. For some years, he taught the horn at Chicago's Roosevelt University. Clevenger made his solo classical recording debut on a 1988 album on the Deutsche Grammophon label, performing Benjamin Britten's Serenade for tenor, horn, and strings with the Chicago Symphony under Carlo Maria Giulini, who became a close professional associate. He had previously appeared on pop albums by Joe Morello, Curtis Mayfield, The Manhattans, and Noel Pointer. In 2003, Clevenger gave the world premiere of John Williams' Horn Concerto, which was dedicated to him. He earned Grammy Awards for the album The Antiphonal Music of Gabrieli, which featured members of the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Cleveland Orchestra brass sections, and for a Chicago Symphony album of Strauss wind concertos on which he was both conducted and accompanied by Barenboim. Clevenger appeared on more than 60 albums. He retired from the Chicago Symphony in 2013, taking a teaching post at Indiana University. After battling cancer, Clevenger died in Brescia, Italy, on January 5, 2022.
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