William Louis Klingelhoffer was named after his ancestor from Indiana, who joined the Union Army fighting the Confederate slaveholders, and was killed in 1864. He studied in Chicago with Stu Liechti, Nancy Fako, Frank Brouk, and Dale Clevenger, and began playing professionally with the Chicago Lyric Opera at the age of 19.

 

In the 40 + years since he has played Principal Horn for the Opera Companies of Chicago, Houston, and Santa Fe, played extra and toured with the Chicago and San Francisco Symphonies, played for Films, Radio/TV commercials, and Musical Shows, toured and recorded with the Summit Brass Ensemble, appeared as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, given Masterclasses at International Brassfests held at Indiana University and Long Beach, California; University of Victoria, Canada; and Sacramento State University. In 2009, Bill was a Guest Artist at the International Horn Society Symposium. Then, two years later, the San Francisco Opera Horn section played excerpts from Wagner's Ring for the opening concert of the 2011 IHS Symposium at San Francisco State University.

 

Bill is a member of San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, and has also performed and recorded with cabaret singer Wesla Whitfield. He plays on her album Livin' on Love with Klingelhorn colleagues Eric Achen, Alicia Telford, and Keith Green. On Wesla's website click on "Wesla's Jukebox" and "Alfie" to hear the Horn section.

 

A clip from Bill's arrangement of Bartók's Rhapsody for Unaccompanied Horn is available on this site.

 

You may also download the sheet music for the Bartók rhapsody and sheet music for a horn arrangement of Mozart's Ich Baue Ganz as played at the 2009 Horn Symposium.

 

www.klingelhorn.com

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*regular substitute