Artist bio

Kristina Mascher-Turner, former principal horn of the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra (Flemish Radio Orchestra), hails from Albany, Oregon and is once again based in Brussels. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Douglas Hill) and the Hanns Eisler Conservatory in Berlin (Kurt Palm,) and also studied privately with Fergus McWilliam of the Berlin Philharmonic. Early in her career, she was engaged in various chamber and symphony orchestras, including the Odense Symfoniorkester in Denmark and three tours as principal horn with the Gustav-Mahler-Jugendorchester under the direction of Claudio Abbado, Pierre Boulez, and Kent Nagano. She played full-time with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra for several years and is a regular guest with orchestras and ensembles around Europe.

She joined the world-famous American Horn Quartet in 2009, with whom she has toured and recorded extensively. Kristina is also a member of the Ni Ensemble of Luxembourg (First prizewinners at the 9th International Passau Competition) and forms with husband Kerry Turner the Virtuoso Horn Duo. Their critically acclaimed CD‘s of works for two horns and chamber orchestra can be found on the Naxos and MSR Classics labels.  Ms. Mascher-Turner has given master classes and performed in over 30 countries on six continents. She served as Vice President of the International Horn Society   from 2015-2021 and was editor of the IHS digital newsletter, “Horn and More.” In 2022, she joined the Summit Brass and artist faculty of the Rafael Mendez Brass Institute held annually in Denver, Colorado. She was also the recipient of the International Horn Society’s Punto Award “in recognition of distinguished contributions and service to the art of horn playing.” Horn aside, Kristina sings with a semi-professional vocal octet, has a passion for travel, food, and languages, and is a certified Reiki master.

Kristina performs on a Ricco Kühn W393X triple horn.