With over two decades of experience performing throughout the United States, Quadre – The Voice of Four Horns was awarded the 2020 Heart Prize by the Ariel Avant organization in recognition of its artistic programming tied to social justice issues. The genesis of this life-changing artistic work came within the first two years of inception when the quartet was selected for a year-long rural residency program with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and subsequently was granted two significant educational residencies by the San Francisco Symphony. The group has recorded four albums of contemporary and classical music that include commissions and collaborations with Grammy-award winning artists.
In over 1,000 concerts, from New York to California and North Dakota to Georgia, the ensemble has performed music that is acclaimed for moments of “Inspiration, sorrow, love [and] virtuosic display” (International Horn Call). Audiences, captivated by the richly distinctive, orchestral sound of four French horns playing in unison, find that a Quadre concert is a deeply moving experience.
The ensemble has collaborated with award-winning artists, including flutist, Molly Barth; Los Angeles studio legend, James Thatcher; and Philadelphia phenom, soprano Elizabeth Weigle. To further the creation of innovative pieces, Quadre has commissioned over 46 new works from renowned composers such as Nina Shekhar, Anthony Plog, Mark Adam Watkins and Christopher Wiggins, as well as drawing on the compositional talents of members Adam Unsworth and Daniel Wood.
Keenly embracing its leadership role as music ambassadors, Quadre has been honored to have performed for the Helen Keller School for the Deaf and Blind and the Weingarten Children’s Center for the Deaf, and regularly performs at youth centers, soup kitchens and homeless shelters. Their civic outreach has touched local San Francisco Bay Area audiences at the Mountain View Centennial, extensions of the Steven Creek Trail, the Rengstorff House Arts Festival and performances at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. They have collaborated with local organizations including the Chamber of Commerce, Community Services Agency, and the Bill Wilson Center.
As teaching artists, Quadre has connected with over 50,000 students, seniors and adults throughout the United States. In their local community, they have performed for and worked with students at the Community School of Music and Arts, all of their city’s public elementary, middle and high schools as well as students at the German International School, Girls Middle School, Waldorf School of the Peninsula, and St. Francis High School.
When not touring together, members of the ensemble perform with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and teach at the San Francisco Conservatory, University of Oregon and University of Michigan. As individuals, they received their training from Juilliard, Northwestern, UCLA and the Eastman School of Music.
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“Wouldn’t it be nice if…
“As horn players and more fundamentally musicians, we want to succeed but are always running into the “if” statements. If only I could clean up my lip trills… play the Reynold’s etudes at tempo… play higher, faster, softer, smoother – I’d be something. I want to offer you an ensemble where you can discard the ‘ifs’ and let your true voice shine.”
Daniel sent fifty letters with these words to horn players all across Los Angeles. Twenty replies were received and after a few weeks of rehearsals, four French horn players committed to establishing Quadre – The Voice of Four Horns.
From the start, Quadre’s sound emanated from music and ideas beyond the traditional French horn experience. Our perpetually buoyant founder, Daniel, caught a bug when he watched in youthful awe, the off-beat musical “Forever Plaid.” That propelled him into the world of what he describes as “solo boy bands” (an oxymoron he explains – “They were four guys in a band but together they created one singular voice, a singular vocal entity”) of the 50s and 60s, like the Hi-Lo’s and the Four Freshmen. With that, he was inspired to create music with a similarly unique “solo band” sound for the French horn. We are the Voice (not Voices) of Four Horns. Not a typo.
Within a year of our inception, our humble efforts resulted in a few videos, a demo recording, and to our excitement, a Chamber Music America grant with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts for a rural residency in Selma, Alabama. After our year long stay in the Heart of the South, we recorded our inaugural album, which captured our early sense of humor and earnestness to do something different.
In the years that have followed, Quadre’s sound and repertoire has evolved as has its membership. Everyone involved over the years (Eric, Melissa, Armando, Meredith, Alex, Carrie, Nathan and others) has truly made Quadre what it is today. The percolating of ideas and concepts from so many gifted musicians solidified the group’s sound, approach and character. Around 2008, everything finally clicked into place on a world-class level. Quadre’s singular voice reached new heights and continues to this day with the members we have now.
Quadre’s members are Amy Jo, Lydia, Adam and Daniel. Adam and his calm, confident artistic perspective. Lydia and their cool, sophisticated demeanor. Amy Jo and her grounded view of the world. And the driving force behind the group, Daniel and his quirky, yet passionate wit.
We continue to do what chamber groups do: record albums, tour, collaborate with other artists & ensembles, commission new work, and engage in educational and community programs. But what drives us onwards is our vision: to create and perform music as a means to enact transformable change. We don’t need to play at the most prestigious or biggest concert halls to accomplish this. We’ve each done that already. We just need to touch one person at a time.
A native of Lebanon Pennsylvania, Amy Jo Rhine was appointed by Gustavo Dudamel as Third Horn of the Los Angeles Philharmonic during the 2014–15 season. She was a member of the Memphis-based IRIS orchestra from 2001–2014 and held associate and principal horn positions with the Colorado Music Festival from 1997–2014. Prior to her family’s move to Southern California in 2012, they spent nine years in St Louis, MO where she enjoyed a diverse professional life teaching from her home private studio, held adjunct faculty positions at both Webster and Maryville Universities, and played regularly with the St Louis Symphony.
From 1996–2001, Amy was the Assistant Professor of Horn at Wichita State University and Principal Horn with the Wichita Symphony Orchestra. While in Wichita, she was a member of the Lieurance Woodwind Quintet and Wichita Brass Quintet. Prior to that she held the Principal Horn position with the Louisiana Philharmonic in New Orleans to which she made significant administrative contributions in that cooperative ensemble.
Amy is an active performer in the Los Angeles recording studios and frequently performs and teaches at Horn workshops in the United States.
Amy received her training from Verne Reynolds at the Eastman School of Music earning a BM degree and Performer’s Certificate and with James Decker at the University of Southern California graduating with a MM degree.
Amidst busy performance schedules, Amy and her husband, Greg Roosa, reserve ample time to discover the finer points of basketball and Legos with their sons, Norty and Sutton.
Lydia Van Dreel, Professor of Horn at the University of Oregon, joined Quadre in 2008. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Oregon, they held a ten-year tenured position as Co-Principal Horn of the Sarasota Orchestra in Sarasota, Florida. Lydia earned the Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and the Master of Music Degree from The Juilliard School.
Lydia’s performing career has encompassed a wide variety of activities as an orchestral, solo, chamber and recording artist. Currently, Lydia is a member of the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra, the Eugene Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Next, the Oregon Wind and Brass Quintets.
A frequent concerto soloist, they have been a featured performer with many organizations, including the Peninsula Symphony, The Sarasota Orchestra, and The Colorado Music Festival Orchestra.
Professor Van Dreel collaborates on a wide variety of chamber music and recording projects. Notable recent projects include their first solo CD, “New Millennium Music for Horn,” “Red Desert,” released on the BRIDGE record label in 2015, a featured performance in the 2012 Superbowl Chrysler commercial “It’s Halftime in America,” and a world premier performance of “Gjallarhorn,” an electro-acoustic piece for natural horn, electronics, and motion detector.
As an educator, Lydia has presented master classes and topics for students of all ages throughout the US, and in South America, Europe, Asia and Africa.
Adam Unsworth is professor of horn at the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance. Prior to his appointment in Ann Arbor, Adam was a member of The Philadelphia Orchestra (1998–2007) and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (1995–1998). He has toured Asia and Europe with the San Francisco Symphony, is a frequent guest with the Detroit Symphony, and is Principal Horn of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra.
Adam is dedicated to commissioning and performing works to expand the boundaries of the horn repertoire. Adam has five recordings as a leader to his credit that encompass a wide variety of music: Balance (2014), a jazz recording for horn, jazz sextet and chamber orchestra, Snapshots (2013), a recording of contemporary classical music in collaboration with composer/pianist Catherine Likhuta, Just Follow Instructions (2009), featuring the chamber music of saxophonist/composer Daniel Schnyder, Next Step (2008) and Excerpt This! (2006) – jazz recordings which received critical acclaim from both jazz and classical reviewers.
Adam is a member of the New York-based Gil Evans Centennial Project, which has received two Grammy nominations for its recordings Centennial and Lines of Color. He is also part of Japanese big band leader Miho Hazama’s M-Unit Band and has appeared on her most recent recordings, Dancer in Nowhere and Time River.
A former faculty member at Temple University, Adam has appeared as a recitalist and clinician at many universities across the United States, and has made several solo and chamber appearances at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall. Unsworth received his formal training at Northwestern University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Adam enjoys his daily run and discussing the finer points of raising three kids in the 21st century.
A multi-faceted artist, Daniel has written and performed improvisational solo shows for the horn, piano, and electronics. After his residency with Quadre in 1999–2000 in Alabama, Daniel—who founded the group—became deeply drawn to the issues of access to the arts, the environment, and society’s insatiable consumption of products.
Compositionally, Daniel’s works favor intimate groups in the classical and jazz mediums. His pieces evoke a sense of time and place, leading listeners to reflect, cherish, and oftentimes, smile. He started Solid Wood Publishing to showcase new works for horn.
Daniel has performed with numerous chamber ensembles, opera and ballet companies, new music ensembles and orchestras. He has toured extensively as a member of Quadre as well as with the Mark Growden Quintet, Avenue Winds Quintet, and Teal Crane Trio. He has lectured on the Business of Music for the American Federation of Musicians, San Francisco Conservatory, Eastman School of Music, University of Oregon, and International Horn conferences.
In 2002, Daniel founded the digital arts program for the Community School of Music and Arts in Mountain View, CA where he also taught horn and music composition until 2013. Currently, he is the chair of musicianship and composition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Pre-College Division. He also maintains a private studio in his hometown of Mountain View, CA. Daniel received his BA in music from UCLA.
When not delving into the latest musical project, Daniel enjoys spending time with his wife and three kids on hikes, bike rides and adventurous trips.
In|Different#Ways
Our Time, Our Stories
with guest artist, James Kassis (percussion)‡
A Little Night Music
with guest artist, Molly Barth (flute)‡
Hearing Voices
with guest artist, Elizabeth Weigle (soprano)‡
Horns for the Holidays
* Commissioned by Quadre.
† Arranged by Quadre’s artists.
For a complete repertoire list and detailed description of the programs, please contact Quadre here.