Skip Snead

Charles “Skip” Snead currently serves as professor of horn at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where he teaches applied horn and brass pedagogy.  He performs widely as a soloist and chamber musician, with appearances including solo performances at both the Southeast and Mid-West Regional Horn Workshops and the International Horn Society Summer Symposium.  He has also performed as guest soloist with many ensembles including the State Orchestra of Romania, Monroe Symphony, Macon Symphony, Tuscaloosa Symphony, and Shreveport Summer Music Festival Orchestras.

          In addition to the above named ensembles, Skip performs with the internationally recognized ensemble, The TransAtlantic Horn Quartet, with colleagues Michael Thompson, Richard Watkins, and David Ohanian. The TAHQ has performed throughout this country and Europe and tours extensively several times a year.  In the summer of 2001, the TAHQ was featured as a resident ensemble at the 2001 Britten-Pears School for Advanced Musical Studies at Snape-Maltings, England.

          Skip has recorded with the TransAtlantic Horn Quartet, the Classic Brass, and the Kentuckiana Brass and Percussion Ensemble, and he has a solo recording on compact disc issued by Centaur records.

          In addition to his work as a performer, he is internationally recognized as a teacher and clinician.  He has given masterclasses throughout the United States and in Europe and serves on the Executive Board of The American Horn Competition.

           Skip is a native of Atlanta, Georgia.  Having won a position with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra in Jacksonville, Florida at age 18, he pursued his undergraduate education at Jacksonville University.  His graduate work was done at the University of Georgia.  His principal teachers have included, Merwin Crisman, Karen Thornton, and John Dressler, with additional studies with Dale Clevenger, Philip Farkas, and William Capps.

          In Tuscaloosa, Skip serves as principal horn of the Tuscaloosa Symphony, and performs with the Capstone Wind Quintet and Alabama Brass Quintet.  In addition to these positions, Skip plays Principal Horn with the Macon Symphony in Macon, Georgia and Associate Principal Horn with the Huntsville Symphony.  Prior to moving to Tuscaloosa, he was on the faculty of Murray State University, and has held positions with many orchestras throughout the southeast.