(PRINCETON, NJ) -- On Wednesday, March 2 at 7 pm, Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) presents Soundtracks: An Alphorn Demonstration with Dr. Ted Schlosberg, Director of the International Alphorn Ensemble (IAE), in partnership with the Princeton Public Library, in the library’s Community Room. Alphorns are enormous instruments traditionally made of wood, and were originally used by Swiss mountain dwellers to call in cows or communicate with others across the mountainside. Dr. Schlosberg will don a traditional alpine costume and display several types of horns, including a rare 14-ft circular horn. Attendees will have an opportunity to participate in a horn-blowing contest and ask questions following the presentation.
In addition to directing IAE, Dr. Schlosberg is Founder and Executive Director of the New Jersey Workshop for the Arts, and an adjunct instructor of music at The College of New Jersey. He studied the alphorn at the Alphorn Academy in Montreux, Switzerland, and has performed for the Swiss Mission at the United Nations, the New York Stock Exchange, Ricola USA, and heritage festivals throughout the East Coast.
The fourth movement of Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 in C Minor opens with a horn call transcribed by Brahms from the Alphorns of Switzerland. The symphony is being performed in its entirety at the Princeton Symphony Orchestra’s Beholding Brahms Concert on Sunday, March 13. Also on the program are works by Jean Sibelius and Caroline Shaw. For more information, visit princetonsymphony.org.
PSO Soundtracks is free and open to the public; refreshments will be served.
The Soundtracks series explores music and related topics, providing glimpses into the classical music world and what goes on behind-the-scenes at the PSO, Princeton’s only professional orchestra.
PHOTO: Dr. Ted Schlosberg, pictured at left, brings his alphorn to Princeton for a demonstration of the instrument at the Princeton Public Library on Wednesday, March 2. Photo courtesy of Ted Schlosberg.
