Jeff Fair

Hailed as “fearless and flawless” as well as having a “stunning presence and power” Jeffrey Fair has been the Principal Horn (The Charles Simonyi Chair) of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra since February 2013 and a member of the Orchestra since 2003.

He can be heard on Grammy award winning Seattle Symphony recordings including Messiaen’s Des Canyons aux étoiles, Strauss’ Alpine Symphony, Mahler’s 10th Symphony, the complete Firebird of Stravinsky, Dvorak’s 9th Symphony, Ravel’s Pavane for a Dead Princess, as well as new compositions by John Luther Adams.

In addition to his work presenting the great horn solos of the symphonic repertoire he is a proud member of the “Seattle Symphony Horns.” With his colleagues Mr. Fair enjoys sharing, via social media, bits of life on and off the stage as well as their entertaining self-produced horn ensemble videos. The SSO horns have been featured at regional and international horn conferences and recently performed Schumann’s Konzertstück with the Seattle Symphony.

Mr. Fair also performs as Principal Horn of the Seattle Opera where he has been part of numerous performances of Wagner’s Ring Cycle. He has served as guest Principal Horn of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, he appears throughout the country as a soloist, chamber musician, clinician, and teacher.

An extensive relationship with the Seattle Chamber Music Festival has led to world premieres of works by Jocelyn Morlock, Lisa Bielawa, Lawrence Dillon, and Gerard Schwarz as well as performances of much of the standard chamber music material. Other music festival appearances have been as Principal Horn and faculty member of the Aspen Music Festival and School, Eastern Music Festival, Arizona Music Festival, Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego, and Festival Mozaic in San Luis Obispo.

Mr. Fair served as a faculty member at the University of Washington for a decade and is proud to have former students studying and working in places near and far. He regularly soloed with the university’s ensembles, most recently in performances of Schumann’s Konzertstück and Beckel’s The Glass Bead Game.

Prior to moving to Seattle, he was Principal Horn of the San Antonio Symphony for three seasons, appearing as soloist in works of Mozart and Martin. Mr. Fair completed a Master of Music degree at the Juilliard School as a student of Jerome Ashby. A native of Oklahoma, he received a Bachelor of Music degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Oklahoma as a student of Eldon Matlick.