The club was formed in 1997 by Bob Ashworth, principal horn of the Orchestra of Opera North (formerly the English Northern Philharmonia), and his horn section colleagues of the time (Dougie Scarfe, Maggie Houlding & Paul Kampen) to enable horn players of all ages and abilities to assemble on a regular basis to play in large ensembles. The opportunity to play in groups of up to 16 players would otherwise be extremely rare! Members come from all walks of life, both amateur and professional sides of music, and range in age from 12 to over 75.

Horn Clubs

The oldest horn club in existence has to be the ‘Wiener Waldhorn Verein’ (Viennese Horn Club) which started in 1883. As well as bringing together horn players of all ages and abilities it led to a huge increase in ensemble repertoire, usually written or arranged by the leaders of the club, who were usually members of the Vienna Philharmonic.

The Los Angeles Horn Club & Baltimore Horn Club have produced publishing offshoots. The Opera North Horn Club has its own publishing ambitions, with several original compositions and arrangements by the club members and their friends. Watch out for more details!

Horn Club members playing carols at Settle Station