Austin Larson joined the Singapore Symphony Orchestra as Principal Horn in 2023 having previously held positions with the Cincinnati, Baltimore, and Colorado Symphonies. A regular guest with the Philadelphia Orchestra while living in the United States, Austin also performed as a guest with several other notable ensembles, including the National Symphony, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, and as Guest Principal Horn with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London, BBC Philharmonic in Manchester, Iceland Symphony Orchestra in Reykjavik, and São Paulo Symphony Orchestra in Brazil.
Austin has also been successful in many competitions, notably as one of only two people to ever win First Prizes in both the University and Professional Divisions of the International Horn Competition of America. In 2017, Austin became the first American to win a prize in the International Brass Instruments Competition in Gdansk, Poland and the Jeju International Brass Competition Horn Division in South Korea, finishing with the Second Prize in both. Austin has also previously won the International Horn Society Premier Soloist Competition, Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition, Wisconsin Public Radio Young Artists Competition, and the International Music Competition “Citta di Chieri” in Italy. Austin has also appeared as a soloist at the Music for All Symposium, International Horn Symposium, Jeju International Wind Ensemble Festival, Wisconsin Public Radio, and with orchestras in the United States, Europe, and Asia.
A native of Neenah, Wisconsin in the mid-western USA, Austin holds degrees from the University of Cincinnati and the Curtis Institute of Music and his teachers include Randy Gardner, Jennifer Montone, Julie Landsman, Jeffrey Lang, Duane Dugger, Elizabeth Freimuth, Richard Deane, Douglas Hill, Bruce Atwell, and Donald Krause. A strong believer in music education, Austin taught with the Baltimore Symphony OrchKids program for inner-city youth and has raised funds for music scholarships both at the University of Cincinnati in addition to musicians’ relief funds during the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, visit www.austin-larson.com.