Blending delicate sophistication with a high-octane approach has earned Albert Houde praise for “standout horn playing” by the Palm Beach Arts Paper and the position of Principal Horn of the West Virginia Symphony. In the past two and a half decades, Houde has become a sought-after soloist, chamber player, and orchestra musician, appearing across the United States with dozens of ensembles including the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Music Festival, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Reading Symphony, and many others. This season, Houde performed Gliere’s grandiose Concerto for Horn and Orchestra, Op. 91, with the West Virginia Symphony.

In 2023, Houde received an appointment as Assistant Professor of Horn at West Virginia University. He holds degrees from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, studying with Randy Gardner, and the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, studying with Peter Landgren. Houde has also studied with noted pedagogue David Fedderly and performance psychologist Noa Kageyama, author of The Bulletproof Musician. Houde is a DMA candidate at West Virginia University, researching the music of American composer Frank Gulino.

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