Talented musicians slated to perform at Arts Festival then play at Carnegie Hall

ERIN HORNER The last weekend of this month promises to be a wonderful weekend of music in Washington. Following the Saturday night performance by Grammy award-winning country songwriter and singer Hillary Lindsey, Sunday will provide another rare opportunity to hear a talented quartet of musicians, two of whom are slated to appear at New York City's Carnegie Hall in May.

Erin Marie Thomas Horner, daughter of Virginia King Willingham of Washington and Jimmy Thomas of Wagner, S.C., will appear in concert with her husband, Brian Horner, and colleagues Emily Wasson and Kevin Chance at the Washington Little Theater Playhouse on Sunday afternoon, April 29 at 2 p.m. The concert is free to the public.

Erin, who began performing in public when she was four years old, chose to study the French horn in the sixth grade. She holds a Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music where she studied with the renowned pedagogue Peter Kurau. She is a member of the Chattanooga Symphony and the Nashville Chamber Orchestra. She has played with the symphonies of Rochester, Nashville, Memphis, and Huntsville, and has recorded with Keith Urban, Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, and Michael W. Smith. She has also performed with Trisha Yearwood, Sara Evans, Michael McDonald, Phish's Trey Anastasio, and the Oak Ridge Boys, among others, and toured with Vince Gill and Amy Grant on their "Simply Christmas" tours. Currently, Erin teaches at Vanderbilt University and serves on the faculty at Cumberland University and Trevecca Nazarene University.

BRIAN HORNER Brian Horner, Erin's husband, earned a Bachelor of Music from the University of Michigan where he studied with Donald Sinta. This talented saxophonist has performed with the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, appeared with the Nashville Saxophone Quartet on National Public Radio, and shared the stage with noted Armenian folk-rocker Gor Mkhitarian. His soprano saxophone performance is featured on recording artist Gretchen Peters' Halcyon album. Horner will present a recital with his wife, Erin; pianist, Elizabeth Wolynec; and composer/ performer M. Zachery Johnson at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall in May. Horner serves on the faculty at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee.

Joining the Horners in Washington for their performance will be clarinetist Emily Wasson and pianist Kevin Chance.

CHANCE Wasson is a candidate for Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Oklahoma. A much-sought-after performer and teacher, she serves on the faculty of Western Kentucky University and holds the positions of Principal Clarinet of the Bowling Green Chamber Orchestra, Third Bass Clarinet of the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra, and clarinetist with the Nashville Chamber Orchestra.

Chance maintains an active schedule of teaching, performing, and adjudicating. Recently appointed to the music faculty of the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham, he is the recipient of numerous national music awards and holds a Master of Music degree from Louisiana State University.

The Washington Little Theater Playhouse is located on North Alexander Avenue in Washington.

WASSON