French Horn Summer School

18/07/2026

18/07/2026

FHSS 2026 is over! And what a success it was, too. Nine students joined us in Wales, some of them having travelled from as far as Germany, China and America! We spent four days playing in large and small ensembles, looking at orchestral horn parts, and learning the basics of conducting. This year we were privileged to have Zoom calls with Jonathan Lipton (37 years 4th Horn of the LSO) and Zoë Tweed (current 3rd horn of the RPO and teacher at RCM), who generously offered advice and stories to the students, as well as answering their questions. The weather was glorious all week, and this year's students were a very sociable bunch! A huge thanks, as always, to our staff - Peter Widgery and Simon de Souza (horn teachers/coaches), Jennie Robson (pastoral lead/horn player) and Ben de Souza (chef/conductor). See you all next year!

14/07/2026

I am excited to be heading off early this morning to start to set up for this year’s French Horn Summer School, in South Wales! In just a few hours from now horn players from China, USA, Germany and England will be arriving to share four glorious days of playing, bringing the thrilling sound of the horn ensemble to the Brecon Beacons once more.
We will be posting daily updates for the rest of the week!

07/06/2026

I am delighted to announce that the French Horn Summer School 2026, is nearly full - but not quite! Four glorious days of horn playing in a delightful rural location - can we tempt you to apply?

Whether you have been on one of our courses before, or are wondering about joining us this year for the first time, we only need a couple more players to reach the magic number of TWELVE. Just think of the repertoire that we can rehearse and perform, with twelve horn players - we did just that last year, and it was brilliant fun!

Previous courses have built on the fantastic success of our first course in 2019. Whether you want ensemble experience, personal and individual advice about technique, or a focus on learning orchestral repertoire in sectional rehearsals, our course offers all this, and more: with plenty of opportunities built into the schedule for socialising and relaxation, we provide a unique opportunity for developing both friendship and musicianship.

Don't miss out: please get in touch via the website link below, or you may find that others have beaten you to it.

We hope to hear from you soon!

French Horn Summer School is a friendly, focused course for horn players aged 15-24 in the UK, run by professional horn players Peter Widgery and Simon de Souza.

17/02/2026

Booking is now open for our 2026 course! Click the link below to go to the 'Apply' page of our website. We hope to see lots of you in Wales in July!

The dates for 2026 are 14-17 July. Bookings are now open.A deposit of £250 will be required on application.The remaining balance of £295 is due by 5th June.The application form can be downloaded here.If you have any questions about the course, application form or T&Cs, please contact us. “I met ...