Saints and Soldiers

William Caballero, horn
David Chan, conductor

Saturday October 13, 2018 at 8:00PM
Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian Church
152 West 66th Street, New York, NY

Purchase Tickets Online

  • Gabriel Fauré Pelléas et Mélisande Suite, Op. 80
  • Franz Joseph Haydn Symphony No. 100, Hob. I/100 "Military"
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Horn Concerto No. 4, K. 495
    William Caballero, horn
  • Johannes Brahms Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56a

About the Artists

William Caballero, Horn

William Caballero is one of the world's leading French horn players, highly sought after as soloist, orchestral leader, and as a chamber musician. He is the Principal Horn of the Pittsburgh Symphony, a position he has held for 29 years under its Maestros Manfred Honeck, Marris Jansons and Lorin Maazel. Before joining the Pittsburgh Symphony in May 1989, Caballero previously held Principal Horn positions with the Houston Symphony, Houston Grand Opera and Hartford Symphony, as well as Third Horn positions with the Montreal Symphony, Montreal Opera and acting Third Horn with the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops. He has performed as guest Principal Horn with Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and the St. Louis Symphony.

During the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s 2011 European Festivals Tour, Caballero — and the Pittsburgh Symphony horn section he leads — received rave reviews. Michael Church of The Independent called Caballero "a principal horn whose pianissimo is simply miraculous," and Guy Dammann wrote in The Guardian, "The horn section — led very much from the front by their excellent principal William Caballero — is one of the best in the business." In its September 2012 review of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s Exton recording of Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, Gramophone magazine wrote, "Pittsburgh’s first horn is as spectacular as any on disc."

Born in New Mexico and raised in Wisconsin, Caballero’s early horn studies included working under Larry Simons, Barry Benjamin and Basil Tyler, as well as studying the piano and pipe organ. Caballero graduated from New England Conservatory in Boston where he studied with Richard Mackey and Thomas Newell, both former members of the Boston Symphony.

Caballero is also in demand as a chamber musician collaborating with musicians such as violinists Gil Shaham, Joseph Silverstein and Philip Setzer, and pianists André Previn, Christoph Eschenbach, Orli Shaham and Andre Watts. William has also performed and worked with jazz musician and composer Chris Brubeck, as well as ensembles that include the Tokyo String Quartet, Trio Johannes, Principal Strings of the Berlin Philharmonic, Center City Brass, Bay Chamber Concert Series, St. Barth’s Music Festival and the Grand Teton Music Festival. He is also a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony Brass, which includes fellow colleagues of the Pittsburgh Symphony Brass section.

Caballero solo’s regularly with the Pittsburgh Symphony with most recent collaboration as soloist under Maestro Honeck. In April 2014, Caballero performed the world premiere of Robert Levin Edition of Mozart’s 1st Horn Concerto in D, and in September 2012 performed the Pittsburgh Symphony premiere of Strauss Horn Concerto No. 1. Previous solo performances with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra have included Richard Strauss’ Horn Concerto No. 2 in E-flat with Maestro Maazel, Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 2 in E-flat with Maestro Andre Previn, Mozart Concerto fragments with Pittsburgh Symphony Concertmaster Andres Cardenes, Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings with Maestro Stanislaw Skrowaczewski and tenor Anthony Griffey, Schumann’s Konzertstück in F for four horns and orchestra with his Pittsburgh Symphony horn colleagues under the baton of Maestro Sir John Eliot Gardener, and the John Williams Horn Concerto under the baton of Maestro Leonard Slatkin.

Other recent solo appearances outside of the Pittsburgh Symphony have included performances in Montenegro with Maestro Ronald Zollman and with the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic at New York City’s Carnegie Hall under the baton of former Principal Horn of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Dale Clevenger.

In May 1992, Caballero premiered Benjamin Lees’ Concerto for Horn and Orchestra with the Pittsburgh Symphony under the baton of then-Music Director Lorin Maazel. Following the performances in Pittsburgh, he performed Lees’ Concerto in Spain, Germany, and England with the Pittsburgh Symphony on tour. In May 1996, Caballero recorded the concerto with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Lorin Maazel for New World Records.


David Chan, Music Director

As a conductor, Mr. Chan is the Music Director of Camerata Notturna, a role he also serves in for The Montclair Orchestra, a New Jersey-based ensemble noted for its innovative and diverse programming.  He has also directed l'Orchestre Dijon Bourgogne in France, and the festival orchestra of Musique et Vin, which consists of musicians from the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, and top orchestras in Paris.  As conductor and educator, Mr. Chan works frequently with student orchestras at Juilliard and Mannes conservatories in New York, as well as the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan.  Mr. Chan's 2018-19 conducting schedule includes his Carnegie Hall debut, his debut with l'Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège in Belgium, a return engagement with l'Orchestre Dijon Bourgogne, and various concerts in South America and Eastern Europe.

In 2008, combining his love of wine with his passion for music, Mr. Chan co-founded the Musique et Vin au Clos Vougeot festival in the Burgundy region of France. As artistic director of the festival, which pairs wine tastings with musical offerings, Mr. Chan has overseen its growth from a small, intimate gathering to a two-week extravaganza that now attracts icons of classical music as its collaborators, including Yo-Yo Ma, Joyce DiDonato, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Emmanuel Pahud, Menahem Pressler, and Cho-Liang Lin.

A native of San Diego, Mr. Chan began his musical education at the age of four. He made his New York debut in 1995 at Avery Fisher Hall, and his Carnegie Hall debut in 2003.  Mr. Chan received his bachelor's degree from Harvard University, and his master's degree from The Juilliard School.  He is now on faculty at The Juilliard School and the Mannes School of Music, and resides in the New York City area with his wife, violinist Catherine Ro, and their children Annalise, Micah, and Arianna.

David Chan is the concertmaster of the MET Orchestra in New York, a position he has held since 2000 as leader of that renowned ensemble. Widely recognized as a brilliant violinist and one of the leading musicians of his generation, Mr. Chan enjoys a diverse career as conductor, soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. His concerts have taken him to leading stages in North America, Europe, and Asia, appearing as soloist under the baton of such conductors as James Levine and Fabio Luisi. He is highly sought after as a chamber musician, performing regularly at the most prestigious summer festivals as well as throughout the New York City area.

Official Website: davidchanmusic.com