Trevor Nuckols

Trevor Nuckols is an internationally recognised horn soloist whose career includes concerto, chamber, and orchestral appearances at leading halls and festivals in the world’s musical capitals. His repertoire ranges from early Baroque to newly commissioned works, unified by a consistent focus on structural integrity, tonal depth, and fidelity to the score.

He has been a featured artist at the Marlboro Music Festival and the Lucerne Festival, and a fellow of the Tanglewood Music Center, the Pacific Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, Sarasota Music Festival, and the New York String Orchestra Seminar.

His awards include the International Horn Society’s Barry Tuckwell Award, the Gold Medal at the Vienna International Music Competition, and First Prize at the International Horn Society Premiere Soloist Competition. He was also winner of the Juilliard Concerto Competition, the Music Academy of the West Competition, and Sweden’s North International Music Competition.

He has appeared as solo horn with the Münchener Kammerorchester and as an artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He has served as guest principal horn with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, Philharmonie Salzburg, and the Bad Reichenhaller Philharmoniker. His playing is noted for its balance of precision and effortless mastery, and he has been praised by The New York Times as “outstanding and “an excellent soloist.

A committed advocate for new music, Mr. Nuckols collaborates closely with living composers and incorporates contemporary works into concert programmes alongside core repertoire. He is co-founder of Duo Corgano, a horn and organ ensemble with organist David Ball, whose performances span early repertoire to modern commissions, often presented in architecturally and acoustically significant spaces.

His scholarly work centres on the development of horn playing from the Baroque through the mid-twentieth century, with particular attention to the British, French, Austro-German, and Czech traditions. He maintains a growing private archive of historical horns, manuscripts, recordings, and iconography. He has presented lectures and master classes at Seoul National University, Tokyo College of Music, New York University, and the University of Cartagena.

He received his early musical training at the Interlochen Arts Academy before earning his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School, where he was a Kovner Fellow and a SYLFF Fellow, undertaking study-abroad program at the Conservatoire de Paris. He pursued postgraduate study at the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg. His principal teachers include Michael Corcoran, Gene Berger, R. J. Kelley, Jens McManama, and Radovan Vlatković. His mentors include Barry Tuckwell, Roland Berger, Gerd Seifert, & Lowell Greer.

He performs on a custom B-flat Alexander horn, Ricco Kühn double horn, and a 19th-century Raoux-Millereau piston horn. His work is grounded in the conviction that the horn, informed by history and shaped by intent and passion, remains one of music’s most eloquent and enduring voices.