Music professor receives international award for major contribution to art of horn playing

John Ericson, professor in the Arizona State University School of Music and brass area coordinator, received the Punto Award from the International Horn Society (IHS) for his contribution to the art of horn playing.

Ericson received the award at the 50th IHS symposium for his contributions as a performer and scholar, past service to the IHS and promotion of the horn and its music through his online activities.

Ericson is co-founder of the online magazine Horn Matters, the leading resource on the French horn. Founded in 2009 by Ericson and Bruce Hembd, the magazine is an open educational resource with more than 1,500 entries of French horn, brass, wind and music-related articles on 38 different topics, all written by Ericson.

“This is such a great time to be creating with so many platforms available,” said Ericson. “I enjoy content creation and was a pioneer of online publications. There were few sites online when I started, so I know my online publications have had a wide impact on the field.”

Ericson is a recognized authority on the history of the horn in the 19th century with several book publications. He is also a recipient of the Harold Meek Memorial Award and has performed and presented sessions at seven international horn symposiums and numerous regional events.