Braydon Ross ’23 impressed a select group of accomplished musicians and educators to earn acclaim as the best collegiate horn player in the United States.

The University of the Pacific graduate finished tied for first place in the collegiate division of the 2024 International Horn Competition of America at Colorado State University in late July.

Previous winners include artists who now are principal horns in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the San Diego Symphony as well as members of the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

“It’s humbling and exciting to be listed with those musicians,” said Ross, who is now working on his master’s degree at Yale University.

Ross shared the title with Natalie Sweasy, a student at the University of Cincinnati. The two emerged as the winners from a field of more than 100 competitors.

Peter Witte, dean of the Pacific Conservatory of Music and himself a horn player describes the competition as intense.

“To win this competition, decided by some of the most talented musicians in the country, you can’t miss a step. You can’t hide your errors. The event is the most significant solo horn competition in America,” Witte said.

There were three rounds of competition on consecutive days. In the preliminary round, entrants played a movement from a Mozart concerto and another piece of their choosing. From there, the field was cut to 11 student musicians who played pieces with a pianist. In the last round, four finalists each played a full concerto with piano accompaniment.

“I learned so much during the process,” Ross said. “The amount of feedback we got from judges was amazing.”

Ross is now considering his next step–likely doctoral studies or pursuing a career as a professional musician.

Recently, he has travelled across the country for performances with the Stockton Symphony, an opportunity he earned in a blind audition shortly after graduating. He will play in two more concerts with the Stockton orchestra.

Ross credits his experience at Pacific with preparing him for success. He was a double major (performance in horn and music education) and a Powell Scholar.

“A big part of my studies was my collaboration with Professor Sadie Glass. I took a lot away by listening to her play and absorbing her sound, which is fantastic,” Ross said. “At Pacific there were a lot of opportunities for solos, which prepared you for high stakes performances.”

Glass praised her student for his “humble nature” and said he is a natural leader.

“It is a major accomplishment for Braydon to win this competition, but it will not change him,” Glass said. “He’s just an amazing person who has such a bright future ahead of him.”

Following the horn competition, Ross took part in the International Horn Symposium–a series of lectures, performances and master classes at Colorado State. Glass and several of her current Pacific students were able to attend and perform.

“I was very fortunate and happy to play in concerts there with the Pacific Horns,” Ross said. “We did one performance led by Professor Glass. Also, the Yale horn quartet for which I play premiered a piece written by Pacific student Skyler Warren ’25. That was a nice ‘full circle’ moment.”

See Ross perform all four parts of the horn quartet "Isolde's Garden" in in this 2020 video he produced as a student at Pacific.