Lee Cyphers

horn

Hometown: Plattsburgh, NY

Alma maters: University of Denver Lamont School of Music, 2025; The Juilliard School, 2020

Photo credit

Appearances

Aspen Music Festival, 2023

What made you decide to become a musician? Was there a particular performance or person that influenced your decision?

When I was nine years old, a professional horn player named Ann Ellsworth moved in down the street from my family. She started giving me horn lessons in exchange for my mom tutoring her kids in math, and the next thing I knew, I was head-over-heels for music.

Is there a person or people you most respect in your field and why?

The Poiesis Quartet is a young string quartet who have recently won huge international chamber music competitions, including Banff and Fischoff. They are all queer musicians who are succeeding at the highest level in classical music while remaining unapologetically authentic in who they are, and this emotional honesty shines through in their playing. I really admire them.

Tell us about a time you almost gave up but didn’t.

I took an extended break from playing during COVID, after my undergraduate degree. I thought I might go to law school and become a public defender—I even took the LSAT. But I realized my life felt empty without the horn at the center. I still had so much music I wanted to play.

Can you share any memorable onstage mishaps?

In seventh grade I joined the Vermont Youth Orchestra, and at the very first rehearsal (my first time ever playing in orchestra), after my mom dropped me off, I realized I had forgotten my mouthpiece! I couldn’t go home and get it because we lived an hour (and a ferry ride) away. Luckily, another horn player had an extra mouthpiece and some disinfectant, and helped me out!

Do you have a favorite non-classical musician or band?

I really love Big Thief, Blood Orange, Mitski, and Childish Gambino.

What is a surprising part of playing your instrument that you think most people don’t know?

Since the French Horn bell points backwards, it actually takes a tiny bit longer for the sound to reach the conductor and the concert hall. Young horn players often sound late and slow compared to the rest of the orchestra, and for a while, it can feel like a constant battle just to be on time!