Horn Player Jonathan Ring to Perform at CHIME Gala

Jonathan Ring, a Piedmont resident and second horn with the San Francisco Symphony, will be among the featured musicians at next month's CHIME Gala.

An active chamber and recording musician, Ring is a founding member of The Bay Brass and a frequent performer around the Bay Area and on television and motion picture soundtracks.

His intrument, which would be more than 12 feet long if uncoiled, is known informally as the "French horn." It's part of the brass section in a symphony orchestra.

CHIME (Citizens Highly Interested in Music Education) provides funding and volunteers to support music, drama and dance programs throughout the Piedmont school system.This year's gala, with a Spanish Carmen theme, is scheduled for March 31, 5 to 8 p.m., at a historic Piedmont estate.

Ring joined the San Francisco Symphony in 1991 after holding positions in the Columbus Symphony and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. He graduated in 1983 from Northwestern University, where he was a student of Dale Clevenger. Other major teachers include Robert Fries at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and Jerry Peel.

He performed at the 1995 and 2011 International Horn Society Workshops and has also toured as a member of Summit Brass. In 2003 and 2005, he was invited to represent the United States as a member of the “Super World Orchestra” in Japan, an ensemble comprised of top orchestral musicians from around the globe.

Ring currently serves on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he teaches horn and coaches chamber music.

His summer music festival participation has included the New College Music Festival, the Spoleto Festival, the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood, the Colorado Philharmonic (NRO), and the Grand Teton Music Festival.

Ring lives in Piedmont with his wife Maya Rath and their two sons, Julian and Benjamin.

Also on the program for the gala is violinist Ian Swensen, a Bay Area resident who teaches at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Sacramento State University.

He has performed with members of the Juilliard, Cleveland, Emerson, Takács, Concord and Tokyo String Quartets, as well as Menahem Pressler, Gilbert Kalish, Mark O’Connor, and YoYo Ma. He is one of the few musicians to have been awarded the Walter W. Naumberg International Competition’s top prize for both chamber music and violin. His recordings can be found on the TelArc and Deutsche Grammophon labels.

The CHIME Gala will also feature the main cast from Piedmont High School's recent production of Bye, Bye, Birdie and other instrumental and vocal music by PHS alumni and Piedmont musicians. The event includes a light supper with appetizers.

Tickets are $75 per person and can be purchased at www.eventbrite.com (search for "CHIME"). Donations may be made and additional information found at www.chimeofpiedmont.org.