Name: Wendy Chinn
City, State of Residence: Tysons, VA
Occupation: Music Teacher
Favorite Instrument to Play: French horn
Wendy H. Chinn, French horn, is a private brass music teacher in Northern Virginia and has also been an elementary school band director and general music teacher. Ms. Chinn has performed in many different venues, from the Conservatoire Americain in Fountainbleau, France, to the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, to the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra in California. She currently performs in groups in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area such as the Cardinal Brass Quintet, The Morpheus Chamber Ensemble, and the Piedmont Symphony Orchestra. Wendy has a Master of Music in Music Performance from George Mason University and also holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from the Crane School of Music.
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Village Virtuoso: When did you first realize you wanted to play a brass instrument? What drew you to French horn?
Wendy Chinn: I was about to start the ninth grade and I wanted to be in the band as quickly as possible because they took overnight trips. In order to get into the band quickly, I knew I had to take an instrument they really needed and I knew they needed oboes and French horns. I didn’t want to sit in the front row where the oboes would sit, so I opted for French horn, which sat in the back. I started in September and joined the band in January, which shows how desperate they were!
VV: Did you play consistently, all the way to adulthood?
WC: After I graduated with my Bachelor’s I put the horn down for 5 years. I was looking at my horn one day, and I needed some money and thought I should sell it. Then I thought I would give the horn one more chance. Decades later, I’m still running on that one chance.
VV: When you started, how did your friends/family/teachers react?
WC: My family had no reaction. My friends had no reaction. My band teacher loved me.
VV: What’s your favorite genre to play?
WC: I don’t really care about the genre, as long as I get to play good music. My woodwind quintet, Morpheus Chamber Players, goes with the highbrow classics, such as the Poulenc Sextet or the Barber Summer Music. Right now we are working on Eric Ewazen’s Roaring Fork Quintet. I also love playing in an orchestra and being part of a section where I can work with other horns. My brass quintet, The Cardinal Brass Quintet, plays a lot of Dixieland, which is a stretch for me and I love being a little looser and playing swing.
VV: Do you get surprise/negativity from anyone now?
WC: No, not really. I find when I first meet people, they fall into two basic categories: they know what a French horn is and what it looks like and what it does, or they have absolutely no idea what it is. Those in the latter group make for great stories.
VV: Care to share one of those stories?
WC: I went on a blind date. The guy was purported to be very smart and successful. With most first dates, I usually give a pretty simplistic explanation of what a French horn is, and what I do as a musician.
BLIND DATE (BD): So you studied music – do you sing or play an instrument?
ME: I play the French horn. It’s the shiny metal instrument that’s curly and round.
BD: Oh, I know what a French horn is!
ME: Really? That’s GREAT! I usually have to explain everything. It’s so much easier to talk to someone who knows music.
BD: Yes. There are some jazz musicians that play horn, aren’t there?
ME: (Excited at the prospect that he knows French horns play jazz AND he’s using the more collegial term “horn” for a French horn) YES! Yes, there is! There’s Julius Watkins, Mark Taylor, Tom Varner…
BD: Didn’t Louis Armstrong play horn?
ME: (feeling suddenly deflated) ….well, um…
BD: Yes, he plays horn. And he puffs his cheeks when he plays.
ME: …well, uh, often in jazz any instrument that is blown into is called a horn. Louis Armstrong was a great jazz player and played trumpet. However, another jazz trumpeter, Dizzy Gillespie, was the one who puffed up his cheeks.
BD: No. It was Louis Armstrong. He puffed his cheeks when he played horn.
ME: (wondering if confusing Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie is a possible racist mistake or complete and total ignorance) …uhhhh, I think it was Dizzy. Louis Armstrong didn’t puff his cheeks.
BD: I’m pretty sure Louis Armstrong puffed his cheeks.
ME: …perhaps, I suppose… (while thinking, “I have two degrees in music and THIS is what we’re talking about???”)
Postscript: I was told through an intermediary that he rejected me for a second date, saying I was smart, but there was no chemistry.
VV: Any other projects on the horizon?
WC: Always! I love teaching, it’s my passion, and I’m always looking for more private students. Anyone who knows me knows I am always the happiest when I finish teaching lessons. My woodwind quintet, Morpheus Chamber Players, will be playing at the Mid-Atlantic Flute Convention in February, and we are going to do a full hour program of local composers. It’s surprising how much local talent there is in the DC area! This past weekend I got together with some amazing pro/semi-pro musicians just to read through chamber music (Beethoven Septet for strings and winds, Mozart wind octet and other gems). I’m so lucky to be in this area that is so rich with great musicians!