Musician, French horn

Andrea Lunt

Every week, french horn player Andrew Bain sits under the hot lights of Brisbane’s performing arts centres, in front of thousands of expectant faces and plays the musical works of composers such as Mozart, Bach and Mendelssohn.

The lead up to each performance requires hours of preparation and a constant battle with nerves, yet, according to Andrew, it’s the most rewarding part of being a musician.

“As a musician, there is nothing better than playing to a full house and playing a great repertoire,” Andrew said. “In the process of performing, you do get nervous because you want to do well for yourself and your colleagues. “You’re also playing for a good reaction from the audience.”

Andrew’s colleagues are the talented musicians of The Queensland Orchestra, where the 33-year-old is the principal french horn player. As principal, he manages the horn players and ensures the artistic standard of the section. He also is on the artistic committee of the orchestra, which involves organising schedules and choosing pieces for the group to play.

To maintain a high level of performance, Andrew does between 14-20 hours of private practice a week, as well as daily rehearsals from 9am-4pm with the orchestra. No matter how much practice a musician does, Andrew said embarrassing mistakes were inevitable. “The problem with playing the horn is that you make mistakes all the time. It’s just a matter of limiting the damage as much as you can,” he said.

“It is such a rewarding instrument to play but also very difficult and it requires you to keep working and keep improving.” Andrew first started playing the french horn in his first year at high school and, although it traditionally is a difficult instrument to learn, he picked it up quite easily.

“It was one of those instruments that a lot of kids didn’t play. Everyone said it was hard but I didn’t find it hard. It was one of those things that just worked,” he said. He played in bands during high school and then cemented his experience with a Bachelor of Music at the Conservatorium of Music in Adelaide.

After university, Andrew performed in musicals around Sydney before landing his first full-time job with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. In 2000, he won a scholarship to study in Vienna for six months and then went on to play in an orchestra in Munich for 2 1/2 years.

“One of the greatest things you get as an orchestral musician is the opportunity to tour,” Andrew said. “When I was in Munich, we toured to France, Italy, Slovenia, Austria, the United States and China, Brazil and Mexico.”

Andrew has shared the stage with several famous musicans including James Morrison, Tony Bennett and Anthony Warlow. He also played with American rock musician Ben Folds on his recent Australian tour.

Andrew counts performances in the Great Hall of the People on the edge of Tiananmen Square in Beijing and at the Sydney Opera House as among his career highlights. With only one state orchestra and several smaller orchestras in Brisbane, Andrew said competition for french horn positions was fierce. “It takes a long time and a lot of practice before you can get to the level of being able to get a job,” Andrew said.