David Jolley

Hornist David Jolley, MSM Orchestral Performance, Classical Horn, and Chamber Music Faculties, began his studies in his native Los Angeles with James Decker and Wendell Hoss. While still a student of James Chambers at the Julliard School, from which he holds Bachelor and Master of Music Degrees, Mr. Jolley was honored to perform with the NY Philharmonic in New York and Washington, DC, under Leonard Bernstein.    

David Jolley has thrilled audiences throughout the world with his “remarkable virtuosity” (New York Times) and has been hailed as “a soloist second to none” (Gramophone Magazine), concertizing extensively in North and South America, Europe, South Asia, Korea, and Japan.  As Principal Horn and founding member of Orpheus, Mr. Jolley made over two dozen recordings for the Deutsche Grammophon label.  His other recordings include six solo recordings for the Arabesque label, among them the complete Mozart and Strauss Concerti.  

A Chamber Artist of unusual sensitivity and range, Mr. Jolley is a member of the virtuoso “unquintet”, Windscape, Artist-in-Residence at MSM, the acclaimed New York Brass Arts Trio, with Trumpeter Joe Burgstaller and Trombonist Haim Avitsur, and Trio Valtorna, with Ida Kavafian and Gilles Vonsattel.  Other groups with which he has collaborated include the Fleisher-Jolley-Tree Trio, with pianist Leon Fleisher and Guarnari Quartet member, Michael Tree; the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, the Guarneri, Orion and American String Quartets; the Beaux Arts Trio, Musicians from Marlboro; and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.  

Past winner of the Concert Artist Guild, Heldenleben, and Coleman Competitions, Mr. Jolley was the first Hornist chosen to be a touring Affiliate Artist, and was the recipient of a grant from the Martha Baird Rockefeller Foundation. Mr. Jolley’s keen interest in enlarging the Solo Horn Repertoire has resulted in the composition of many new works for him, including Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s Concerto (Premiere, New York Carnegie Hall); Twilight Music, by John Harbison (Premiere, Lincoln Center Chamber Society, Alice Tully Hall); George Perle’s Duos for Horn and String Quartet (Premiere with the Orion String Quartet, Tully Hall). 

Some of the many summer festivals in which Mr. Jolley has performed include the Marlboro, Sarasota, Chesapeake, Mostly Mozart,  Bravo! Vail, and Music from Angel Fire Festivals.  He performed and taught for many years at Aspen and the Music Academy of the West. International festivals at which he has appeared include the Kuhmo, Vaasa (Finland) Dartington Hall (England), Vianden (Luxembourg), and Nimes (France) Festivals.  

Joining the Faculty of the MSM Faculty in 2011, Mr. Jolley was Chair of Brass from 2014-2017. He also serves on the Faculties of Mannes, the New School, and Stonybrook University. He is Chair of Brass at Queens College Aaron Copland School of Music, CUNY. Mr. Jolley has taught Master Classes at numerous institutions, including the Juilliard School, Indiana, Yale, and Northwestern Universities, University of  Wisconsin, the Curtis Institute of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music, Eastman School of Music, Colburn, New England Conservatory, and UT-Austin.