Jeffrey Agrell

Jeffrey Agrell was horn professor at the University of Iowa 2000-2021. His first career was as Associate Principal horn in the Lucerne (Switzerland) Symphony Orchestra 1975-2000. He has performed and taught the full gamut of horn literature, including the repertoire for symphony orchestra, opera, musicals, ballet, operetta, and chamber music, while stretching personal artistic boundaries beyond the orchestra as a educator, composer, writer, clinician, recording artist, and solo performer. He is a former two-term member of the Advisory Council of the International Horn Society, has been a member of the faculty of the Asian Youth Orchestra in Hong Kong, and taught at the prestigious Kendall Betts Horn Camp 2005-2020.

He has won awards as both a writer and composer, with well over one hundred published articles, dozens of published and recorded compositions, and many books to his credit, most recently, the Millennium Kopprasch Series (Duet Kopprasch, Preparatory Kopprasch, Rhythm Kopprasch, Harmony Kopprasch, Accompanied Kopprasch), Horn Technique (2017) and The Creative Hornist (2017). He is an expert in nonjazz classical improvisation, giving concerts and workshops nationally and internationally, recording four CDs, and authoring landmark books in this area, including Improvisation Games for Classical Musicians, Vol. I (2008) and Vol. II (2016).  His latest book is French Horn Player's Guide to the Blues (and Beyond).

Recently retired,  he is enjoying as full slate of hobby pursuits, including jazz guitar, golf, fishing, biking, card tricks, reading, crosswords and cryptograms, and naps.