Fresno State music professor Dr. Thomas Hiebert presented at the International Horn Symposium in Montréal, Canada over the summer. His presentation focused on the style and technique of the horn during the Baroque period in 17th and 18th century Europe. Hiebert presented videos where he demonstrated a little-known early 18th-century “hand-horn” technique and period-appropriate ornamentations to melodic lines. These techniques were made possible as Hiebert played on a valveless (or natural) horn, the predecessor to the modern French horn, which was popular during the Baroque period. Hiebert said that while horn-playing soloists in the period would have likely employed both of these practices, they are seldom used today.
Hiebert’s technique is a hand-in-bell with which he has been able to add additional pitches to the valveless horn’s capabilities and reliably improve the tuning of the notes.
“Out of 40 pitches possible, the valveless horn can play 22 – about half without the hand-in-the-bell. But with the hand-in-the-bell techniques you can add about half a dozen pitches and improve the tuning of many others, giving the horn more parity or equity with the other instruments of the orchestra and with the voice,” said Hiebert.
Hiebert came to Fresno State in the Fall of 1987 to teach French horn and other music courses. He was chair of the Department of Music from 2006 to 2010 and in Fall 2023 elected to FERP (Faculty Early Retirement Program). As a horn player, he has concertized widely as a recitalist on both valved and natural horn with his wife Lenore Voth Hiebert. Over the years Hiebert has also performed as a member of many orchestras and has been acting principal of the Fresno Philharmonic.
The College of Arts and Humanities at Fresno State 