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About Mr. Schommer
Adam Schommer is a freelance French horn player in the New York Metropolitan area and maintains an active Horn studio of students both privately and at the Music Conservatory of Westchester. He also serves as professor of Horn at Lehman College.
Schommer has had the privilege of working with a multitude of artists and ensembles such as Ray Chew, Benji Kaplan, Gerard Schwartz, Lanfranco Marcelletti, John Clark, Sting, David Amram, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, The Allentown Symphony, Harrisburg Symphony, Albany Symphony, The Princetone Festival, John Luther Adams, and has performed in almost all of the contiguous United States with Bruce Vantine's Cornerstone Chorale and Brass.
Mr. Schommer received a Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music where he studied with Rick Solis of the Cleveland Orchestra, and he earned a Masters in French horn performance from the University of Cincinnati where he studied with Randy Gardner, formerly of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Schommer did an artist diploma at SUNY Purchase studying with John Clark and Ann Ellsworth.
Mr. Schommer is honored to have been a soloist with the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra and the Chelsea Symphony, and was concerto competition winner at the Lucca Opera Theater’s 2002 season.
During the 2020 pandemic, I have been performing on YouTube as The
Cor-antined Cornisto.
Teaching Philosophy
I always begin students with the physicality of horn playing. Proper mouthpiece placement, posture and breathing techniques are explored in depth. When we eliminate unnecessary muscular tension, all aspects of playing any instrument become easier.
I build good playing habits in my students from the ground up - I have dozens and dozens of small exercises to refine every aspect playing, and a portion of each lesson will include this instruction, away from solos and etudes. The way you practice lip slurs (for example) can be explored and then applied to repertoire.
When teaching repertoire, I use visualization techniques to connect a student to their creative mind in conjunction with the fundamentals of Horn playing. Every small detail is worth attending to in order to create the highest possible level of performances.
"Practice does not make perfect.
Only perfect practice makes perfect."
-Randy Gardner
My best teachers all taught me how to practice above just running through repertoire and commenting. The most important lesson to learn as a young musician is HOW to practice.