Thomas Jöstlein

Thomas Jöstlein has been the Associate Principal Horn of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra since 2010. Previously, he was the New York Philharmonic’s Assistant Principal Horn under Lorin Maazel.  He was on three major tours, including the historic live broadcast from North Korea (2008). He has held positions with the Honolulu, Omaha, Richmond, and Kansas City Symphony Orchestras, and performed in the Brevard, Napa Valley, Classical Tahoe, Britt, and Eastern Music Festivals, among others.

Jöstlein loves spreading the lessons of his mentors: Arnold Jacobs, Roger Rocco, and William VerMeulen. He was Assistant Professor of Horn at the University of Illinois, taught several weeks at Indiana University in 2014 in both natural and un-natural (valved) horn, and has held adjunct positions at Saint Louis University, the University of Hawaii and at Virginia Commonwealth University.

As a soloist, Jöstlein won first prize in the professional division of the American Horn Competition (2003), and the grand prize at the Hugo Kauder Music Competition at Yale University (2005), earning a recital at Merkin Concert Hall in NYC. He has appeared with the SLSO as a soloist on several occasions, playing Robert Schumann’s Concertstück for Four Horns and Orchestra, Richard Strauss’ First Horn Concerto, and the Antonio Vivaldi Double Concerto with Chris Dwyer under Nicholas McGegan.

He appears on several recordings, notably Tony Bennett’s Duets II album, along with his sister, Barbara Jöstlein Currie, Fourth Horn of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. On the natural (classical) horn, he has performed the Haydn D-Major concerto and the Brahms Trio with Stephanie Chase and Brian Connelly, and with the Boulder Bach Festival.

Jöstlein performs on a triple horn by J. Patterson, on natural horns by R. Seraphinoff and L.J. Raoux (ca. 1820), and on a Vanon alphorn.

He lives in University City with wife and fellow horn player, Tricia, and sons, Klaus and Max.