Lydia Van Dreel

Lydia Van Dreel is Professor of Horn at the University of Oregon's School of Music and Dance, where she has been a faculty member since 2006. She previously held a tenured position as Co-Principal Horn of the Sarasota Orchestra in Florida for ten years.

Her educational background includes:

• Master of Music in Horn Performance from The Juilliard School (1993)
• Bachelor of Music from the University of Wisconsin—Madison (1991)

Professor Van Dreel's research and performance interests center around brass instruments, particularly the horn, with specializations in music performance, chamber music, and contemporary repertoire. Her work spans orchestral, solo, and chamber music contexts, with a focus on expanding the horn repertoire through commissioning new works and innovative performance projects. She has been particularly active in exploring electro-acoustic music for horn, as evidenced by her world premiere performance of "Gjallarhorn," an electro-acoustic piece for natural horn and electronics.

Van Dreel maintains an active performance schedule with multiple ensembles including the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra, The IRIS Orchestra, Quadre—The Voice of Four Horns, and several regional orchestras. Her discography reflects a commitment to both standard repertoire and contemporary works, with particular emphasis on expanding the horn literature through recordings like "New Millennium Music for Horn" (2014) and "Red Desert" (2015).

Her professional service includes:

• Recording reviews editor for The Horn Call (journal of the International Horn Society)
• Host of the 2015 and 2010 Northwest Horn Symposium
• Board member for Chamber Music at Beall, the Eugene-Springfield Youth Symphony, and the American Federation of Musicians

As an educator, Van Dreel has presented master classes globally at institutions including Indiana University, the Kenya Conservatoire, University of Southern California, and Imperial College London. She actively mentors students through individual instruction and chamber music coaching, with her studio activities documented at https://blogs.uoregon.edu/uohornstudio/.

Professor Van Dreel continues to expand the horn repertoire through commissioning new works and innovative performance projects while maintaining a rigorous teaching and performance schedule across multiple continents.