David Quackenbush

A Calgary native based in Toronto, David Quackenbush enjoys a varied career as a freelance artist. David studied French Horn with John Zirbel and Jean Geaudrault at McGill University in Montreal, and has been a resident artist at the Banff Centre for the Arts. Comfortable in many genres David plays orchestral, musical theater, big band, and brass band shows as well as recording for television and film. His performances with major Canadian orchestras from coast to coast include Symphony Nova Scotia, l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. He is happy to have shared the stage with artists such as Barbra Streisand, Elton John and Herbie Hancock. David has played a variety of musical theater shows from Lord of The Rings to Aladdin pre-broadway and the recent Toronto production of Lion King. He has also enjoyed playing with noted jazz ensembles such as the Boss Brass, Panamericana, John McLeod's Rex Hotel Jazz Orchestra, and the Gary Smulyan Nonet. David is currently teaching Horn as required for the Jazz and Commercial Studies program at Humber College.

I have been a freelance horn player in southern Ontario since 2004. As such, I have both honed my skills as a performer and learned the skills necessary to survive and thrive in the creative sector. I have gained a unique perspective from the variety of performing styles and venues I have experienced, which allows me to pass on to my students not only the concrete fundamentals of horn playing but an appreciation of the possibilities for their creativity, both with their instrument and in the arts field. Since the onset of COVID I have focused on setting up a home studio to produce high quality professional recording to replace some of my commercial work. I am excited to pass on some of this knowledge to my students and I am well equipped for an online teaching experience!

We will establish goals together, and I will lay out a clear path to reach those goals and beyond. I use the Caruso method which is a very measured approach to fundamental technique for any level of player (including myself!). As we establish a solid technical base we can take your playing in whatever direction your goals and imagination take you.